Indonesia’s cocoa output dropped by 58 percent to 240,000 tons in 2011 from 575,000 tons last year, said Chairman of the Indonesian Cocoa Association (Askindo) Zulhefi Sikumbang.
The output is below industry expectation at 450,000 tons as growers struggled with pests and disease.
Zulhefi said in a statement Friday that exports also fell more than 51 percent this year to 207,000 tons from 430,000 tons last year.
Indonesia, the world's third-largest producer after Ivory Coast and Ghana, launched the so-called Cocoa National Movement Program in 2009 through replanting of aging trees, rehabilitation of disease-infected plantations, and expansion of acreage. The program aims to boost output to around 600,000 tons within five years.
But heavy rainfall during the year, and failure by farmers to follow government advise on planting techniques have hampered the program to reach the desired results. (rei)
