Indonesian Minister of Cooperatives and SMEs (Menkop UMKM) Teten Masduki is exploring opportunities to export Indonesian cocoa to Switzerland. Because Switzerland has a potential cocoa export market. This was revealed during the visit of the Minister of Cooperatives and SMEs Teten Masduki to the Stella Bernrain chocolate factory in Kreuzlingen, Switzerland, last Friday (20/1). To note, Switzerland is very famous for the best quality chocolate. A number of Swiss chocolate brands are known for their smooth and delicious chocolate. One of the main factors for the high quality of this Swiss chocolate comes from the perfect quality of the cocoa. Stella Bernrain CEO Monica Müller says the company is constantly on the lookout for the best cocoa beans. So far, the chocolate company, which was established in 1925, imported cocoa beans from farmer cooperatives in countries in Africa and South America. Given the increasing price of cocoa from that country, Stella Bernrain expressed her desire to obtain cocoa beans from other sources. The process of sourcing cocoa by Swiss chocolate producers is primarily concerned with consumer opinion. One of the criteria for cocoa products that consumers in Switzerland are looking for is chocolate products obtained through sustainable farming. Namely those that have more value than just cocoa beans, but also meet the criteria for fulfilling the quality of life of the farmers. Besides that, the continuation of the use of land and its environment, and obtained by a fair trade process. Other News: Many Positive Achievements, Commission X DPR RI Appreciates the Performance of the Ministry of Education and Culture As one of the pioneers of fair trade since 1991, Stella Bernrain has an assistance scheme for cocoa farmers and farmer cooperatives that have the potential to become partners with Stella Bernrain. “We support our partners in setting up nurseries for new cocoa trees or in upgrading and installing fermentation and drying facilities. We can also provide training to help them improve the quality of their cocoa,” explained Monica Müller. Minister Teten Masduki welcomed the opportunity to cooperate in exporting Indonesian cocoa products to Switzerland. “Indonesia has many cocoa plantations that are ready to export to Switzerland, which are managed by farmer cooperatives. Besides that, Indonesia also has a lot of land that can be used for cocoa development," explained Teten.

Also present at the meeting, Christoph Sollberger, CEO of Swiss Impact, the chocolate marketing company Stella Bernrain. Christoph ordered Stella Bernrain chocolate products and packaged them with the Schoggibaum brand (chocolate tree). Consumers who buy a chocolate product means planting a new tree in Indonesia, precisely in the Barisan Selatan National Park, Lampung. The visit to the chocolate factory, Stella Bernrain, was initiated by Indonesian Ambassador Bern Muliaman Hadad, who saw a great opportunity to export Indonesian cocoa products to Switzerland. "So far, Indonesia's cocoa export opportunities to Switzerland have not been utilized much. Switzerland, as one of the world's largest chocolate producing countries, is a cocoa importing country with a total of 52 thousand tons in 2021," said the Indonesian Ambassador in Bern. The enactment of the Indonesia-EFTA CEPA free trade provides broad opportunities for entrepreneurs and cooperatives in Indonesia to import and export in various fields and commodities.

Source: https://malangposcomedia.id/indonesia-bahas-peluang-ekspor-kakao-ke-swiss/