They said Brazilian processors were still negotiating prices with their brokers on the purchase of around 10,000 tonnes of Indonesian cocoa beans.

"Anticipation of further falls in prices have encouraged farmers to release their stocks whenever they can. A mostly stable rupiah and falls in New York prevented any uptrend," said one trader in Ujung Pandang, the provincial capital of south Sulawesi.

Prices of fair, average cocoa beans in Ujung Pandang were flat at 5,900/6,000 rupiah/kg on Wednesday.

CSCE cocoa futures finished softer on last Tuesday due to steady origin sales and local liquidation as bearish fundamentals continued to weigh heavily on the market. CSCE July cocoa closed down $18 at $953 a tonne.

Traders said around 20,000 tonnes of cocoa beans wouldbe exported from south Sulawesi in May, compared with 17,000 tonnes in April.

"Daily arrivals have increased this week to 600 tonnes. Farmers continue to sell their beans and exports are seen standing at 20,000 tonnes this month," said another trader in Ujung Pandang.

He said Brazilian processors were expected to buy around 25,000 tonnes of cocoa beans this year. Indonesia's main cocoa buyers include Europe, the United States and Japan.

"Brazil bought 25,000 tonnes of Sulawesi beans last year and the amount is supposed to be the same this year. No beans have been shipped to Brazil this year because the processors are still negotiating prices with their brokers," said the trader.

"Brazil is still short of beans. They will export their own beans but use the imported ones for domestic use," he said.

Malaysia, the trader said, had bought 10,000 tonnes of beans from Indonesia since late last year. Traders said Malaysia buys between 10,000 and 20,000 tonnes of beans from Indonesia each year.

Traderssaid the harvests, which would reach their peak next month, were underway in Sulawesi and there were no reports of disruption in transport ahead of the general elections on June 7.

"We all hope that everything will be all right during the campaigning period. So far, cocoa trading is running normally and more and more beans are coming to Ujung Pandang from the plantation areas," said the first trader.

Indonesia's cocoa output was expected to reach 325,000 tonnes in 1999 against 310,000 tonnes in 1998, driven by the expansion of areas on the islands of Sumatra, Sulawesi and Java.

The campaign started on Wednesday with many fearing it will spark unrest in the riot-torn country. On Tuesday, thousands of supporters of two rival parties pelted each other with stones and torched 14 buildings and cars in the central Java town of Pekalongan. Forty-eight parties are contesting the elections.

The military said clashes between rival parties have already claimed 10 lives since March.