Cargill opened its first cocoa-processing facility in Indonesia earlier this month. Located in Gresik, the $100 million, state-of-the-art facility will have a 70,000-metric-ton processing capacity and produce Cargill's premium brand Gerkens cocoa powders, as well as high-quality cocoa liquor and butter. In addition, it has created more than 300 new jobs.

“Our customers expect us to keep innovating and adding value to their products, and this investment focuses on delivering for their success,” says Jos de Loor, president of Cargill’s cocoa and chocolate business in Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia. “We have been sourcing cocoa in Indonesia since 1995, and we are committed to supporting sustainable agricultural production and a responsible cocoa supply in the country. We work with governments, communities and partners to help build a vibrant Indonesian cocoa industry with a long-term future.”

The cocoa beans processed at the Gresik plant will be supplied primarily from Sulawesi, where cocoa farming is the principal income for hundreds of thousands of families and where Cargill has been sourcing cocoa since 1995. The company is strengthening activities to support sustainable cocoa production in Indonesia as part of the Cargill Cocoa Promise, the company’s global commitment to improving the livelihoods of farmers, their families and their communities.

Cargill plans to train 4,500 cocoa farmers in newly created Farmer Field Schools in the Bone and Soppeng regencies, and aims to enable 2,000 of them to gain independent sustainable certification. It is supporting the Sustainable Cocoa Production Program (SCPP), a partnership that includes Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH), the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (EKN), Swisscontact and private-sector companies to provide training and technical assistance to Indonesian cocoa farmers in South Sulawesi Province, Bone and Soppeng Districts.

The new facility and the expanded sourcing operations in Indonesia will complement Cargill's existing global network of cocoa sourcing operations and processing facilities. The investment also strengthens the company's presence in Indonesia, where it has been operating for more than 40 years and today employs more than 12,000 people in business activities including animal nutrition, cocoa, grain and oilseeds, palm oil, copra and sugar.