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n a bid to tap into Asia Pacific'€™s growing cocoa market, the world'€™s top agriculture company Cargill is investing US$100 million in the construction of a cocoa processing factory in Gresik, East Java.

The new facility '€” its first in Asia '€” will have the capacity to process 70,000 tons of cocoa beans. It is expected to start operation in mid-2014 and process cocoa beans into various products including cocoa liquor, butter and powder.

The huge investment highlights the US-based company'€™s strategic plan to meet the growing demand for cocoa products in Asia as well as to stimulate the growth of cocoa-based industry and empower local farmers in Indonesia, according to Cargill Cocoa and Chocolate Business president Jos De Loor.

'€œWe have seen a significant growth in demand for cocoa products among our customers across the region. The investment will enable us to support the growth of the local cocoa sector, process local Indonesian beans and provide high-quality cocoa products to serve the growing needs of our customers in Asia,'€ De Loor said during a groundbreaking event for the new facility in Gresik, East Java, recently.

De Loor said that Asia Pacific countries saw a 5 to 10 percent in growth in cocoa demand annually, making it worthwhile developing a processing plant in the region to serve customers directly.

The company'€™s 2012 financial report shows that the Asia Pacific region contributed 24 percent to Cargill'€™s total sales and revenue at $133.9 billion. This was a 12 percent increase from the previous year.

The region is second after North America, which contributed 38 percent to the total sales and revenue.

The new facility will be an addition to Cargill'€™s global network of cocoa sourcing and processing facilities in Western Europe, Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Brazil and the US.

De Loor said that the company '€” which has been sourcing Indonesia'€™s cocoa beans since 1995 '€” decided to build its first Asian cocoa plant in Indonesia given the country'€™s strong economic growth and its reputation as the world'€™s third largest cocoa producer.

Indonesia produced 833,310 tons of cocoa in 2012, rising 17 percent compared to 712,231 tons in the previous year, according to data from the Agriculture Ministry.

Since the country imposed an export tax on cocoa beans in 2010, the country'€™s export of semi-processed and fully-processed cocoa has risen significantly over the last three years, both in terms of volume and value.

According to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) data, exports of processed cocoa products surged 29.48 percent to 188,500 tons compared to 145,700 tons in 2011. Exports of processed products contributed 55 percent to total cocoa exports in 2012, compared to 43 percent in the previous year, reaching a total value of $566.1 million.

Indonesia exports processed cocoa products, such as cocoa butter, the basic ingredient of chocolate bars, to the US and European countries and cocoa powder, which is used for chocolate drinks and biscuits, to the Philippines and China.

In line with a major leap in processed cocoa products, exports of cocoa beans also dropped by 51.24 percent to 214,740 tons in 2011 from 2009, while its value slumped by 43.29 percent to $617.09 million during the two-year period.

To supply cocoa for its processing needs while giving smallholders increased market access and a better livelihood, De Loor said Cargill would double its purchasing from farmers and aimed to train 1,300 smallholders by 2015 through newly-created Farmer Field Schools to improve bean quality, implement best agriculture practices and further increase yields.