An Analysis of the Cocoa Frontier in the Indian Ocean Rim Region 1

Until the mid nineteenth century cocoa was largely restricted to the Americas but from the 1880s West Africa emerged as the world’s major producer: by 1970, Africa produced about 72 per cent of the world’s cocoa output, America’s contribution having declined to 25 per cent. ² Since the 1970s, there appears to have been some movement of the cocoa frontier towards the Indian Ocean Rim (IOR) Region where, however, it has played a significant role in only four countries: Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Indonesia and Malaysia. This is due to the climatic and physiographical constraints governing cocoa production which is generally limited to rich tropical lands between latitudes 20°N and 20°S below 1,000 feet and with abundant all-year-round rainfall. ³ All four countries mentioned are situated in or close to the equatorial zone. The fact that the cocoa tree also likes shade places a premium on tropical rainforest, a resource in which, historically, all were blessed. Before the 1970s the region was a marginal cocoa producer, the cultivation of cocoa being largely limited to Sri Lanka and Madagascar both of which have witnessed a drastic reduction in their tropical rainforest in the course of the twentieth century. The possession of extensive tracts of rainforest formed the basis for a post 1970 cocoa boom in Malaysia and Indonesia, two High Performing Asian Economies (HPAEs ⁴ ) that by 1992 were responsible for around 20 per cent of world cocoa production and exports. ⁵ Large, unexploited tracts of rainforest give Indonesia the potential to further extend its cocoa frontier. This chapter analyses the shift of the cocoa frontier towards the IOR region, notably to Malaysia and Indonesia, and considers the future cocoa prospects of the region.