JAKARTA, July 23 (Xinhua) -- The Indonesian government will begin applying an export levy on cocoa in the second half of this year, President Director of the Plantation Fund Management Agency Eddy Abdurrachman said here on Wednesday.
The revenue from the export levy will be used to fund development programs in the cocoa sector, the president director explained.
"It has been decided that cocoa will also be subject to export levies. Currently, it is only subject to export duties," he told reporters. "We will try to make sure it doesn't take more than two months."
Eddy noted that the export levy will be designed in a way that avoids placing additional burdens on either exporters or the government.
The government will also regulate the proportional distribution between the export levy and existing export duties, he noted. ■
