Cargill Cocoa Processing Facility, Gresik, East Java

Cargill started the construction of a new cocoa processing facility at Gresik in the East Java region, Indonesia, in May 2013. The new cocoa processing facility was completed in May 2014. It will meet the growing demand for cocoa products in the Asian markets.

The new facility is Cargill’s first cocoa facility in Asia. It was expected to create about 200 new jobs in Indonesia. It also created additional jobs in R&D application centres in Kuala Lumpur and Beijing.

Details of the Cargill cocoa processing facility

The new facility in Gresik, East Java, has the capacity to process about 70,000t of cocoa beans into different varieties of products for customers in the Asian market.

The facility complements Cargill’s global network of cocoa sourcing and processing facilities which are located across Western Europe, Vietnam, Cameroon, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Brazil and the US.

The project enables Cargill to increase long-term sustainable cocoa production globally. It will also expand the company’s sourcing operations in the Indonesian region, thus providing bigger market opportunities for small cocoa farmers, as smallholder farmers produce the vast majority of cocoa beans in Indonesia.

The facility has state-of-the-art technology for processing cocoa beans.

Construction of the cocoa processing plant

The new cocoa processing facility in Indonesia became operational in May 2014. The investment in the construction of the facility was about $100m.

Products from the new Indonesian cocoa plant

The cocoa product portfolio at the new facility includes cocoa liquor, cocoa butter and cocoa powder, which is sold under the brand name Gerkens Cacao.

The cocoa liquor and butter products are supplied to the chocolate industry and cocoa powder is supplied to dairy, confectionery, bakery and ice cream producers.

Cocoa sourcing for Cargill’s plants

Cocoa trees require a tropical climate to grow and to produce cocoa beans. The beans are predominantly grown in West African countries such as Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon. Other countries which supply cocoa beans include Indonesia and Brazil. Indonesia exports about 35,000t of high-quality cocoa beans per year.

Cargill’s cocoa promise programme in Indonesia

The new plant in Indonesia complements Cargill’s goal to encourage sustainable cocoa production throughout the world.

Cargill introduced the Cocoa Promise sustainability programme in order to meet the global demand for sustainable cocoa beans. The programme focuses on three key areas – training cocoa farmers, supporting cocoa farming communities and investing in the long-term sustainable production of cocoa.

Cargill began the cocoa farmer training programme in Indonesia in 2013, to encourage sustainable agricultural practices among smallholder farmers and the farming community. The company plans to provide training to more than 1,300 Indonesian smallholder cocoa farmers by 2015 by engaging farmer field schools.

Marketing commentary

Cargill has been sourcing cocoa in Indonesia since 1995. It is the third largest producer of cocoa beans. The company has initiated steps to strengthen the cocoa sourcing network across the country. With the new cocoa facility at Gresik having started processing, Cargill’s existing two cocoa buying stations in Indonesia will double the quantity of cocoa beans purchased from cocoa farmers to meet the demand for local processing.

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