The Malaysian Pineapple Industry Board is seeking some 15,000 hectares of land to jointly develop the flagging pineapple industry in Sabah. It is also seeking a similar acreage in neighbouring Sarawak. Its Chairman, Datuk Ir Hasni bin Mohammad told Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman, here today that the board felt that the state had the potential and sufficient land to become a major pineapple player in the country.
He said the land could be developed in clusters or via cooperative to enable the people, particularly the hardcore poor, to participate in the pineapple industry of the two states. Hasni said MPIB would provide financial assistance and technical know-how as well as marketing expertise to help Sabah pineapple growers succeed.
He told Musa during a courtesy call on the latter at Wisma Innoprise that the Board would be able to start as early as next year, and that a Sabah regional office had already been opened to lay the groundwork.
In a statement issued through the Sabah Land Development Board, which will be working closely with the MPIB, Hasni said all that was needed to be done now was to extend the Pineapple Industry Act to these two states.
"The Act has to be amended to include Sabah and Sarawak under its jurisdiction and a draft has already been prepared and agreeable by all parties concerned," he told the Chief Minister.
"By this extension order, once it is passed in Parliament, we will then be able to spread our wings to east Malaysia and carry out our various programmes," he said, adding that suitable land had been identified.
Hasni said MPIB would work closely with SLDB to come out with various schemes to encourage smallholders to plant pineapples with the assurance of a guaranteed buy-back upon maturity, as well as assist small and medium scale industries using pineapples as feedstock.
He said there was good demand for Malaysian pineapples, and at the moment, some five to seven container-loads, were being exported weekly to the Middle East.
"This is not enough when we find that even the Koreans and Japanese are seeking Malaysian-grown pineapples, and it is difficult to expand our acreage in peninsular. As such we need to look at Sabah and Sarawak to grow more and to meet demand," he added.
While the overseas markets opted for fresh fruits, Hasni said downstream processing has seen MPIB come up with 10 products which included juices, canned cubes, pineapple-flavoured tea and coffee, jam, fritters etc.
Hasni said smallholders could be amply rewarded by going into the pineapple growing as a 10-acre farm would be able to earn the farmer a monthly RM5,000 income after the first crop is harvested.
He said MPIB would provide the smallholders or cooperatives with technical know-how, a fast-growing variety and fertilizer assistance as provided for under the Pineapple Industry Act, and would assist in purchasing the fruits for export or local processing.
It is understood that for a start, MPIB and SLDB would jointly work on a 100-acre piece of land in Ulu Bongawan as a trial plot, before suitable land is obtained in Sipitang, Beaufort and Nabawan regions.
Meanwhile, Musa said he welcomed MPIB's move and the participation of state-owned SLDB in this venture, adding that marketing was a critical factor in ensuring the success of the industry.
Meanwhile, SLDB general manager Encik Jhuvarri Majid said SLDB would soon undertake to plant the famous Babagon pineapples on a 300-acre piece of land in Penampang.
Source: bernama.com.my
Publication date: 2/25/2009
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