Indonesia Raises September Cocoa Export Benchmark as West African Supply Tightens
Indonesia raised its cocoa bean reference price for September 2026 by 3.89% to $5,635.76 per metric tonne. The Trade Ministry attributed the increase to lower production caused by pests, poor weather and El Niño in West Africa.
September benchmark rises by 4.07%
Indonesia has raised the export benchmark price for cocoa beans for September 2026 as production problems in West Africa tighten expectations for global availability. According to ANTARA, the Indonesian Trade Ministry set the September cocoa reference price at $5,635.76 per metric tonne, an increase of $210.79, or 3.89%, from the previous period.
The higher reference price lifted the cocoa bean export benchmark price to $5,271 per metric tonne. That represents an increase of $206, or 4.07%, from the preceding period. The reference price and export benchmark are used within Indonesia’s export-pricing framework and are calculated with reference to market conditions, international logistics costs and developments in global trade.
West African production problems drive the adjustment
Trade Ministry Director General of Foreign Trade Tommy Andana said the increase reflected declining production caused by pest attacks and poor weather associated with El Niño in West Africa, the world’s principal cocoa-producing region. The ministry therefore linked Indonesia’s September adjustment primarily to overseas supply conditions rather than reporting a comparable production shock within Indonesia.
Lower output in the main producing region can reduce the volume of beans available to processors and traders across international markets. For Indonesian exporters, the higher benchmark establishes a stronger official valuation for September shipments. Buyers and processors, meanwhile, face a higher reference level when assessing procurement costs and the availability of beans, although ANTARA did not provide Indonesian export volumes, domestic production figures or specific estimates of the West African shortfall.
Other export benchmarks show mixed movements
The September decision was part of a broader monthly revision covering several Indonesian commodities. The export benchmark for pine resin increased to $1,052 per metric tonne, up $39, or 3.85%, from August 2026. Benchmark prices also rose for natural-forest veneer and for several categories of processed timber, including products made from meranti, mixed tropical hardwood, teak assortments, pine, gmelina, acacia, sengon, balsa and eucalyptus.
Other categories were unchanged or moved lower. The export benchmark for leather products remained at the previous period’s level, as did those for chipwood and certain processed wood products. Prices declined for plantation-forest veneer, plywood used for packing boxes and selected processed timber made from merbau, ebony and plantation-grown rubberwood. For cocoa-market participants, however, the central signal is the 4.07% monthly increase in the bean export benchmark, which translates West African crop pressure into Indonesia’s official September export valuation.
