Indonesia had a chance to shift their export market from the United States and Europe to China and ASEAN countries, following the agreement of free trade between ASEAN and China by 2010, a cocoa association said.

Chairman of Indonesian Cocoa Association (Askindo) for Jakarta Piter Jasman said that cocoa production of Indonesia and Malaysia, 500,000 ton per year, had not totally absorbed by the market in the southeast Asia.

"We think that national cocoa exporters must not export to the market in the United States and Europe. The markets of China and ASEAN are still open. They are near and have higher populations," he was quoted by the Indonesian business daily Bisnis Indonesia as saying on Saturday.

The chairman said that currently ASEAN (The Association of Southeast Asian Nations) market only absorbed a half of the total production of Indonesia and Malaysia, and the rest of production was sent to the United States and Europe.

Source: Xinhua