The International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO) forecasts Indonesia, the world’s sixth-largest cocoa producer to see the second-deepest drop in cocoa production this season due to Covid-19 effects on demand and production.
According to an ICCO report, Indonesia will see a drop in cocoa output by 20,000 tons year-on-year (YoY) to 200,000 tons between 2019 and 2020 season, which runs from October to September.
Amongst the world’s top ten cocoa producing countries, Côte d’Ivoire suffered the deepest drop, followed by Indonesia on par with Nigeria. See below chart which represents 1,000’s tons.
In absolute terms, Côte d’Ivoire suffered worst, but relative to production, Indonesia and Nigeria are impacted the most.
At over 307,000 confirmed cases, COVID-19 is a continuous risk for Indonesia’s agriculture industry.
Cocoa farmers around the world have experienced COVID-19 health risks and supply setbacks as international lockdowns restricted resources, fertilisers and seedlings to cocoa farms and plantations, in addition to the disruption to logistics.
As a result from the pandemic, a weak global economy is also expected to have a negative impact on the demand for commodities, including cocoa.
ICCO data shows demand for cocoa from Indonesia is expected to drop by 7,000 tons YoY to 480,000 this season. The fall in domestic cocoa demand is also driven by closed shops during the pandemic lockdown and social restrictions.
