Cargill invests in Indonesia

Cargill has started construction on a $100 million (€76.4m) investment cocoa processing facility in Gresik, in the East-Java region of Indonesia. The facility is to meet the growing demand amongst customers for cocoa products and to encourage the development of the Asian cocoa sector.

This will be the company’s first cocoa processing plant in Asia and demonstrates the Cargill’s commitment to develop and grow the Asian cocoa industry. The investment will also strengthen the company’s Indonesian cocoa sourcing network and cocoa sustainability activities.

Cargill will create approximately 200 new jobs in Indonesia, as well as additional positions in its existing R&D application centres in Kuala Lumpur and Beijing, and in the company’s commercial network, which it is strengthening to better serve the needs of customers in Asia.

The facility is expected to be operational by mid-2014, will process approximately 70,000 metric tonnes of cocoa beans into a broad range of tailored products for customers in the Asian market. These products will include cocoa liquor and butter, as well as the company’s Gerkens cocoa powders.