Off the wire
• Bangladesh condemns attack on Saudi embassy in Tehran  • Xinhua Insight: Beijing tech startup street still full of ideas, passion  • Indonesia to unveil new economic policy next week  • China conducts successful test flights at newly-built airfield in South China Sea  • Hamas sets conditions to join new Palestine unity gov't, says to mull on opening of key crossing  • Unusual seismic event detected in DPRK: CTBTO  • Senior UN official to visit Nepal amid escalating political tensions  • Indian stocks close lower  • Myanmar's next term of parliament sessions to begin in February  • S. Korea says to maintain close cooperation with U.S. after DPRK's nuke test  
You are here: 　 Home

Indonesia cocoa export seen down this year: association

Xinhua, January 6, 2016 Adjust font size:

Shipment of Indonesia's cocoa to overseas is forecast to decline this year as the government imposes new export tariffs and taxes.

The country's cocoa association disclosed that the export of the commodity is projected to be down by 37 percent to 25,000 tons this year, said Zulhefy Sikumbang, chairman of the association.

That compares with 40,000 tons' shipment to overseas last year, he said.

"The total taxes and tariff charged to the growers reaches 20.5 percent," he said at his office.

"The exportation last year is estimated to be about 40,000 tons," Sikumbang added.

Indonesia is among the world's top three cocoa producers.

But, the country aims to be the world's top cocoa producer by 2020 through extension of cocoa plantation area, Vice President Jusuf Kalla has said.

So far, Indonesia has attempted to boost cocoa production as its aging trees, most of them planted about 3 decades ago, are vulnerable to disease.

In recent years the government has aimed to boost downstream sector of the cocoa commodity, in part by imposing export tariff and taxes.

Besides, Indonesia also still imports cocoa to meet shortfall of domestic demand. Enditem