Asia still key in cocoa industry despite lower production levels, lack of investments: panel

ALTHOUGH Asia has seen its share of cocoa production fall significantly over the past decade, market watchers still believe the region plays a key role in the commodity’s industry in terms of both demand and supply. 

Speaking at a panel entitled Cocoa Fundamentals Outlook for Asia: Supply and Demand at the International Cocoa Conference on Thursday (Sep 1), Rabobank analyst Oscar Tjakra noted that 10 years ago, Asia accounted for 13.3 per cent of cocoa production. Today, the region accounts for just 4.3 per cent. 

According to Rabobank’s estimates for 2022, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore are major cocoa processing locations in the region. But these countries have seen their share of challenges, which have caused production figures to fall.