This Is The Secret To Success Of Worldwide Jembrana Cocoa Beans From Bali

JAKARTA - The distinctive aroma of cocoa beans is one of the unique characteristics of Jembrana, Bali, compared to other regions in Indonesia. Famous for its fermented cocoa beans, this village is also the first foreign exchange village to receive assistance from the Indonesian Export Financing Agency (LPEI)/ Indonesia Eximbank.

The training and assistance provided by LPEI to cocoa farmers, members and management of cooperatives who are members of the Kerta Semaya Samaniya Cooperative (KSS) is the forerunner of the Jembrana Cocoa Foreign Exchange Village, which is located in Nusasari Village, Jembrana Regency, Bali.

During 2021, one of the difficulties faced by cocoa farmers in Jembrana is the decline in production levels. This is due to climate change factors, especially the impact of the La Nina phenomenon which resulted in very high rainfall resulting in the loss of flowers and wilted fruit due to high rainfall and humid garden conditions. The volume of fermented dry cocoa beans produced has decreased significantly from 48 tons (in 2020) to a position of 24 tons (in 2021).

However, this did not break the fighting spirit of the farmers and the management of the KSS Cooperative to continue looking for potential buyers from abroad. In 2021 the KSS Cooperative succeeded in exporting to a number of European countries, namely Belgium and the Netherlands, Japan, and the United States with a total shipment of 12.5 tons.

When compared to the previous year in 2020, the KSS Cooperative in 2021 has the opportunity to enter the United States market.

"There is an opportunity for us at the KSS Cooperative to enter the American market and at the same time the challenges faced by the Cooperative are related to compliance with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations. But we are proud because we were able to penetrate the American market in the midst of the current pandemic," said the Chairman of the KSS Cooperative, I Ketut Wiadnyana in a written statement, January 1.

Ketut also revealed that in 2022 his party has a target of at least 75 tons of dry fermented cocoa beans production.

"We are also doing some preparations for export to Valrhona, France," explained Ketut.

Separately, the Corporate Secretary of the LPEI, Agus Windiarto said, even though in the midst of a pandemic situation, LPEI as the Ministry of Finance's Special Mission Vehicle (SMV) through the Consulting Services program remained active in providing intensive assistance to the fostered Foreign Exchange Villages to find solutions to whatever obstacles they faced.

"Hopefully in 2022, Indonesian commodities can continue to improve competitiveness in the global market and produce new exporters through the LPEI Consulting Services program," said Agus Windiarto.