JAKARTA: 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.
