REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, GRESIK -- PT Cargill Indonesia , a unit of the US multinational food and beverage company Cargill, has built a cocoa processing plant in Gresik, East Java, at a cost of US$100 million.

The factory will produce semi finished cacao products like powdered cacao with the brand of Gerkens, cacao liquor and butter, president of Cargill Cocoa and Chocolate Business for Europe, Middle East , Asia and Africa Jos de Loor said here on Wednesday.

The factory would be the largest cocoa processing facility in Southeast Asia with a processing capacity of 70,000 tons of cocoa beans a year.

The factory to be officially commissioned by Industry Minister Saleh Husin would export part of its production to China,Australia and Japan.

Most of the cocoa beans would be supplied from Sulawesi, the country's largest producer of cocoa beans.

The factory would increase demand for cocoa beans in the country benefiting cocoa farmers.

Cargill plans to train 4,500 cocoa farmers at a Farmer Field Schools newly opened in the regency of Bone and Soppeng.

President and Chief Executive Officer of Cargill, David MacLennan, said 2,000 farmers taking part in the training would ge given independent sustainable certificates.

"It would support Sustainable Cocoa Production Program (SCPP)," David said.

In addition, partnership program that would include Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH), the Dutch embassy, Swiss contact, and private companies would provide training and technical assistance for cocoa farmers in Bone and Soppeng, South Sulawesi, he said.

"The new facility would make complete the global network for cocoa procurement in Indonesia," he said.

President Director of PT Cargill Trading Indonesia Jean Luis Guillou called on the government to focus on construction of infrastructure and review the regulation restricting investment in commodity like palm oil sector.

Jean said in the past four years his company has invested US$700 million in Indonesia and it hopes to invest US$1 billion more in the next 3-4 years.

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