Indonesia’s Deputy Trade Minister, Dyah Roro Esti Widya Putri, has encouraged cocoa exporters in Bali, particularly in Tabanan, to take advantage of government-led trade agreements to expand their reach abroad. Speaking at the Cau Chocolates factory during her visit, she highlighted opportunities through existing and upcoming trade pacts, including Indonesia-Peru CEPA, Indonesia-Canada CEPA, and a future agreement with the European Union. According to her, markets like Europe are especially promising due to their growing demand for sustainable, health-oriented, and organic products.
She also emphasized the potential of closer markets such as ASEAN, noting that the Ministry of Trade is ready to connect exporters with trade representatives in 33 countries. Dyah Roro encouraged cocoa businesses to use Inaexport’s platform for business matching and to participate in international trade fairs. Additionally, she stressed the importance of downstream processing (or “hilirisasi”) even among SMEs—and praised local companies like Cau Chocolates for turning locally grown cocoa into gourmet chocolate while applying fair-trade practices
