Technical Assistance I
ARISE+ Indonesia organised a study mission to Sicily, Italy, from 21 to 23 September 2022 to, amongst other things, consider the prospect of twining a European GI chocolate with an Indonesian GI cocoa. The activity was part of the overall project actions to support Indonesian GIs' development and promote their export. The mission involved the Directorate General of Intellectual Property, the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, the Directorate General of National Export Development, the Ministry of Trade, the Trade Attaché of the Indonesian Embassy to Italy, the Director of the Indonesian Trade Promotion Centre, the Indonesian Cocoa Board and Kakao Berau MPIG.
The Indonesian delegation was welcomed by the Modica City Council President, Madame Carmela Minioto and members of the Consorzia Cioccolato di Modica led by Salvatore Perluso, President, and Nino Scivoletto, Director.
"I hope this is the beginning of our venture to develop a solid partnership for the mutual benefit of our people, especially the youth," Mr Perluso said.
Indonesia is among the largest cocoa producers in the world. Most of Indonesia's cocoa is transformed into cocoa butter and cocoa powder which are exported and used for further large-scale processing. The EU is the second largest importer of Indonesia's cocoa products and presents good potential for further trade development. Europe is not only the largest importer of cocoa beans in the world, with about 61% of global imports, but its rapidly growing speciality segment makes it particularly interesting for small-scale producers of high-quality beans, including GI cocoa producers.
Indonesia currently has only one GI cocoa producer association (Kakao Berau), and a second producer association (Jembrana) is being considered for GI registration. Europe has only one Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) chocolate Cioccolato di Modica and a second producer is under consideration (Turin Gianduiotto).
"Together with Indonesia, in particular with Berau Cocoa, we aim at introducing an innovative GI chocolate made with GI cocoa. Our goal is not to produce more, but to produce better chocolate with better cocoa," Nino Scivoletto said.
The twinning of a European PGI chocolate with an Indonesian GI cocoa would be a forward-looking move to take advantage of emerging trends in the GI market. One of the conditions for a product to qualify as a PGI is that at least one of the stages of production, processing or preparation takes place in a specific region. Unlike Protected Denominated Origin (PDO) products, the ingredients used to produce a PGI product may come from outside the product's geographical origin. The possibility of certifying that the main ingredient used to produce a PGI using a GI-certified product would bring the final product to a new level of quality, thereby providing it with an extra premium value.
"It is time for Indonesian cocoa farmers to take more pride in their products through an enhanced collaboration with Italy, especially Modica," the Director of Export Development for Manufacture, Ms Made Ayu Marthini, said.
Such a partnership between Cioccolato di Modica PGI Consortium and Kakao Berau MPIG would provide a tremendous boost to the members of the two associations, respectively. This would also open a new pathway for future Indonesian GI cocoa products to develop their export on a high-value-added market as other European PGI chocolates emerge. Moreover, the partnership may set a new business model for other Indonesian GI products, such as spices and coffee.
The mission is part of ARISE+ Indonesia's programme to develop GIs and support rural development. The twinning of European and Indonesian GI products will open access to niche markets by guaranteeing high product quality to consumers.
