14/08/2026

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FRIDAY | AUG 14, 2026

Cocoa supply improving, less volatile since second quarter

offering a wide range of solutions including the Callebaut Signature range, Van Houten Professional cocoa and chocolate solutions, as well as coatings, fillings, and deco rations. To ensure these solutions are more accessible to customers across Malaysia, the company has also evolved its go-to-market strategy to strengthen customer proximity and market reach. Barry Callebaut has also ex panded its distribution model from a single distributor to a network of seven distribution partners across the country, significantly increasing its reach and enabling the company to serve a broader customer base, including well-known Malaysian brands such as Texture by C3 Lab, Enchante and Artigusto Gelato. Today, Barry Callebaut employs more than 400 people in Malaysia, operating a cocoa processing site in Pasir Gudang, Johor, alongside one of the largest cocoa bean warehouses in Asia-Pacific, which is managed in partnership with global logistics provider Maersk, and a global business services centre in Petaling Jaya. “Barry Callebaut is proud to contribute to the growth of Malaysia’s cocoa and chocolate industry, sup porting customers and building in dustry capabilities. “What started with a strong cocoa manufacturing heritage has evolved into a strategic hub that today supports the company’s operations across the region. As consumer demand for choco late continues to grow and diversify, we remain confident in Malaysia’s long-term potential,” Sukono said. Rehda Institute has been advocating, particularly demand-driven supply, demographic responsiveness and more flexible financing. “The next step is to ensure numerical targets remain guided by actual household needs. “Ultimately, success should not simply be measured by how many homes are built or owned, but whether Malaysians have access to the right housing, in the right location, under a tenure and financial commitment that they can sus tainably afford,” he added. The institute said it would continue working with the Housing and Local Government Ministry on training, research and edu cation, including through the Malaysia-Cambridge Urban Plat form on housing affordability, big data, urban planning and policy making.

expansion in the country. “Barry Callebaut continues to contribute to the growth of Malaysia’s cocoa and chocolate industry, supporting customers and building industry capabilities. As consumer demand for chocolate continues to grow and diversify, we remain confident in Malaysia’s long-term potential,” Sukono said. The evolving chocolate consumer trends in the industry and consumer preferences across the country’s chocolate and confectionery market continue to support a positive growth outlook for Malaysia, he said. While annual chocolate con fectionery consumption stands at around 0.4kg per person, and the market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of more than 7% through 2031, these figures represent only part of the opportunity. “Beyond traditional confectionery such as chocolate bars and snacks, chocolate is increasingly being enjoyed across a wider range of applications, including beverages, desserts, bakery, ice cream, gifting, and premium dining experiences. “This expanding role of choco late is being driven by consumers’ growing appetite for more in dulgent, premium, and experiential offerings. “As demand continues to rise across adjacent categories such as bakery, beverages, desserts, and food service applications, the growth potential for chocolate extends well beyond traditional confectionery,” Sukono said. Barry Callebaut continues to broaden its portfolio beyond tradi tional chocolate and cocoa products,

█ BY JOHN GILBERT sunbiz@thesundaily.com

o Production and consumption of commodity in Malaysia expanding too, says world’s leading producer of high-quality chocolate Barry Callebaut

KUALA LUMPUR: Volatility in cocoa supply, which the industry has been experiencing for the past two years, is tapering off, improving since the second quarter of this year. Barry Callebaut Group’s managing director for Southeast Asia, Ciptadi Sukono, said Malaysia’s cocoa pro duction is showing a 20% growth to 90 metric tons from last year. “We see domestic cocoa con sumption is also improving to 90 metric tons, a growth of 7%, and we are seeing continuous improvements. “Furthermore, we are also prepared for any future shocks in the sector,” he told reporters during the launch of Barry Callebaut Masters of Taste yesterday.

Sukono said Malaysia has been an important part of Barry Callebaut’s growth story for decades. The company’s Malaysian journey began in 2008 with the acquisition of a majority stake in KLK Cocoa, one of Asia’s leading cocoa and chocolate manufacturers with roots dating back to 1990. The acquisition established Barry Callebaut Malaysia and laid the foundation for the company’s subsequent growth and

Barry Callebaut, the world’s leading manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa solutions, commemorated more than 35 years of chocolate and cocoa heritage in Malaysia , bringing together close to 1,000 customers and industry partners to share its Masters of Taste vision and reaffirm its long-term commitment to supporting the growth of the country’s chocolate and cocoa industry.

Sukono says Malaysia has been an important part of Barry Callebaut’s growth story for decades.

Review RM300,000 affordable housing ceiling, Rehda Institute urges govt

over-65 population is projected to reach 14%. Rehda Institute said it supports the Housing Credit Gua rantee Scheme, step ped financing, shared ownership and long term fixed-rate mort gages, and said affor dability should con sider not only the purchase price or rent but the long-term cost of financing, occu pying and maintaining

of tenure, including ownership, rental, rent to-own and transit housing, according to their needs and financial capacity,” it said. Rehda Institute said future housing supply must respond to the different needs of households through out their life cycle, and backed proposals under the NHP for financing schemes tailored for senior

Developers cited higher land, construction, labour, compliance and infrastructure costs in Rehda Insti tute’s Housing for All study. The institute said better use of data on household formation, incomes, demographics, existing housing stock, vacancy rates, unsold com pleted units and mobility patterns could reduce the mismatch between the homes being built and what people actually need. It added that this could also lower the risk of oversupply in weaker markets and help prevent develop ments from being abandoned. The Institute said homeownership should not be the only measure of whether housing policy was working, pointing out that Malaysia’s home ownership rate stood at 78% in 2024. “Malaysia should strive towards a balanced housing ecosystem, where households can access different forms

█ BY T.C. KHOR newsdesk@thesundaily.com

PETALING JAYA: Rehda Institute has urged the government to review the RM300,000 ceiling for affordable housing after a survey found 82% of developers said regulated prices for price-controlled housing were below their actual development costs. The institute said the government’s plan to move away from a fixed RM300,000 ceiling towards an income-based model was a step in the right direction under the National Housing Policy 2026-2035 (NHP 2026 2035), It recommended that affordability benchmarks be assessed against household incomes and actual demand in each area, rather than applying the same benchmark across the country.

a home. Rehda Institute chairman Datuk Jeffrey Ng ( pic ) said NHP 2026-2035 reflected many of the issues the institute had been advocating. “We are pleased that the NHP 2026-2035 reflects many of the issues

citizens, retrofitting grants to allow older people to continue living in their homes, and incentives for private developers to build senior care centres. The country is on track to become an aged nation by 2048, when the