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Dompok (centre) witnessing the signing of the MoU between Azhar and Juergen Steinemann, Group Chief Executive Officer of Barry Callebaut AG.
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17th March, 2010
PUTRAJAYA: Local grinding for the cocoa industry in Malaysia has shown rapid growth, from 139,000 metric tonnes in 2000 to 279,000 metric tonnes last year.
Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Tan Sri Bernard Dompok said Malaysia managed to earn RM3.2 billion from the export of cocoa and cocoa-based products for 2009 despite the economic downturn.
The amount, he said, was slightly less than RM3.4 billion earned in 2008, indicating that Malaysian cocoa and cocoa-based products were well received both locally and internationally due to their high quality.
“The Malaysian Cocoa Board (MCB) is working hard implementing programmes to increase the supply of our local cocoa beans,” said Dompok at a press conference after the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between MCB and Switzerland’s Barry Callebaut AG here yesterday.
“The collaborative research between the MCB and Barry Callebaut on using microbial cultures during fermentation aims to improve the quality, especially the flavour of the beans,” he said.
Also present at the signing ceremony were MCB director-general Datuk Dr Azhar Ismail and Barry Callebaut Asia president Maurizio Decio.
Dompok said MCB would be providing personnel as well as laboratory facilities and project sites advisory under the project.
“Cost of this project is RM1 million and the result of this research must be transferred to the farmers so that they will be able to produce high quality cocoa beans and that in turn will provide them the opportunity to get higher prices,” he said.
The three-year project is aimed at improving the taste and quality of Malaysian cocoa beans, using controlled fermentation by adding the selected microbial culture developed by Barry Callebaut.
The collaboration, the first of its kind, enables the usage of such technique on a big scale in Malaysia as the goal is to improve the quality of dry cocoa beans so that it can be sold at premium prices.
Selbourne Estate, which is one of the leading estate cultivating cocoa plantations in Pahang, will function as one of the test sites for controlled fermentation and for the implementation of improved agricultural practices which are expected to lead in increasing cocoa tree yields.
It is understood that at least 20 sites had been identified for the first phase of implementation, with BC intending to ramp up the volume of controlled fermented “superior grade” beans sourced from Malaysia to 5,000 metric tonnes within the next 3 years.
At its factory in Port Klang, Barry Callebaut Malaysia Sdn Bhd will process the beans into premium chocolate and cocoa products and commercialised them in the Asia Pacific under the well-known Selbourne chocolate brand and KLK cocoa brand.
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