Olam to invest US$61m in cocoa plant

Singapore

OLAM International will be investing US$61 million to establish a new cocoa processing facility in Indonesia, the company said yesterday. With an initial capacity of 60,000 tonnes, the facility will grind Indonesian beans to produce cocoa butter, cocoa cake and high quality cocoa powders. The plant is expected to commence operations in early 2016.

Separately, US food and agriculture company Cargill also revealed yesterday that it will begin cocoa processing tests at its Gresik, East Java, plant. Cargill's first cocoa processing plant in Asia will process some 70,000 tonnes of cocoa bean into cocoa powder, cocoa butter and cocoa liquor when it opens fully later this year.