More land needed for pineapple plantation

Salahuddin (second from left) planting pineapples at the Kulim pineapple plantation in Ulu Tiram. With him are Johor Corporation president Datuk Kamaruzzaman Abu Kasim (second from right) and ministry secretary-general Datuk Mohd Sallehhuddin Hassan. — Bernama

JOHOR BARU: Malaysia will need at least another 3,000ha of land to grow MD2 pineapples in order to meet the demand of domestic and overseas markets.

Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Minister Datuk Salahuddin Ayub said currently there was only 2,000ha of land in the country used for the purpose of growing pineapples, majority of which was in Johor.

“Our MD2 pineapples are exported to more than 13 countries including Oman, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Singapore and South Korea.

“Kuwait and China are the latest on the list of countries that we export the pineapples to, and we are also in discussion with several European countries to export the fruit to them in the near future,” he said after visiting Kulim Pineapple Farm in Ulu Tiram here.

Salahuddin pointed out that Malaysia currently exported 100 containers of MD2 pineapples to these countries every month, and about 50 containers to China starting next year.

He added that one container alone contained about 18 tonnes of MD2 pineapples.

Salahuddin (middle), Kamaruzzaman (left) and Sallehhuddin (third from left) packing and labelling pineapples at the plantation.

He said a higher demand from the local and foreign markets was anticipated.

“We will need 5,000ha of land to grow MD2 pineapples to meet the demand, there is a shortage currently.

“However, the ministry is proactive in addressing this matter, while Sabah and Sarawak have both shown great interest in offering their land to grow MD2 pineapples,” he said.

Salahuddin also urged the public, especially local farmers, to grow the fruit as a way to make good income in view of the high demand for Malaysian pineapple.

He, however, reminded pineapple producers in the country that it was paramount to always ensure the quality of the fruits exported as that would directly affect Malaysia’s reputation as one of the best pineapple producers in the world.

“These countries that we export our pineapples to have very strict quality-control requirements, and we must make sure that our produce adheres to these standards,” he said.