Indonesia May Raise Cocoa Bean Export Tax in February

Indonesia may raise the export tax on cocoa beans in February due to the increasing price of the commodity, said Zulhefi Sikumbang, Chairman of the Indonesian Cocoa Association.

“We estimate export tax will be increased, but we don’t know how much,” Sikumbang said by phone from Makassar, capital of South Sulawesi province, today.

The price of the chocolate ingredient increased about $100 per to $150 a ton last week and is estimated to be higher as world supply will be short after Ivory Coast banned exports for a month, Sikumbang said.

“Indonesian exporters can’t control the price, so we go along with international price movements,” Sikumbang said.

Indonesia kept the tax rate on cocoa bean exports for January at 10 percent, while raising the base price to $2,593 a ton, Deddy Saleh, director general for foreign trade, said Dec 23. The government sets a base price to determine the amount of tax to impose.

The duty exporters pay on January shipments is $259 a ton, and may be increased for February and the following month to $300 a ton, as the average price for February shipments is at $3,200 a ton, according to Sikumbang.

The cocoa association, known as Askindo, has asked the government to set a fixed duty on exports instead of changing it every month. The government announces the tax rate and base price between the 20th and 25th day of each month.

The price of cocoa products has been increasing by about 8 percent a week due to the rising price of beans, said Piter Jasman, chairman of the Indonesian Cocoa Producers Association.

“Production cost is still relatively stable and cheaper compared with cocoa-product manufacturers in Europe,” Jasman said by mobile-phone text message today.

Cocoa butter has risen to $5,250 a ton from $4,800 a ton a week ago, and cocoa powder has increased to $4,500 a ton from $4,200 a ton a week ago, Jasman said.

(Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-24/indonesia-may-raise-cocoa-bean-export-tax-in-february.html)