Old Farmers, Aging Trees Get Blame for Indonesia’s Cocoa Misery
- Cocoa production may drop to record low in 2019, group says
- Country may kick off national program to boost production
Cocoa pods hang from cocoa trees in South Sulawesi, Indonesia.
Photographer: Claire Leow/Bloomberg
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Cocoa plantations in Indonesia are passing through a bitter phase, and the bulk of the blame falls on old farmers and aging trees.
Cocoa bean production in the world’s third-biggest producer of the chocolate ingredient may slump about 7% from 2018 to a record low of 260,000 tons this year, Arie Nauvel Iskandar, chairman of the Indonesia Cocoa Association, said in Jakarta.