Indonesia's equatorial climate and its soil fertility provide ideal geographic conditions for cultivating cacao trees. Indonesia is the world’s third largest producer of cocoa bean after Ghana and Ivory Coast. About 65 percent of the cacao trees are grown on Sulawesi island with about 15 percent on the island of Sumatra, while the balance are on the islands of Java, Bali and Papua.

The main driver for the demand of intermediate cocoa products such as cocoa butter and cocoa powder is the demand or consumption of chocolate. Cocoa butter and cocoa powder are important ingredients in the production of chocolate. Chocolate consumption in Indonesia remains very low compared to the consumption level in Asian countries, in the United States and numerous EU countries. As Indonesia's middle class continues to expand and disposable incomes rise, so will the consumption of chocolate and other cocoa-based products.