Zulkafli says customers still prefer fritters from pisang nipah.
PISANG goreng (banana fritters) sellers in Johor Baru are having problems getting pisang nipah as it has not been grown in the state for the last 20 years.
Zulkafli Jaafar, 66, who has been operating a stall selling banana fritters for four decades, said the problem started when banana plantations in Johor were infected by Panama disease.
“The disease only attacks pisang nipah while other varieties such as pisang nangka and pisang tanduk are not affected,” he said when met at his stall on Stulang Walk near Istana Pasir Pelangi.
Zulkafli said prior to the disease outbreak, his regular supply of pisang nipah came from farmers in Batu Pahat and Pontian.
Zainal says Johor used to be the country’s main producer of the banana variety.
“But now, we get pisang nipah from Sabah for RM3.50 per kg, while we get pisang nangka and pisang tanduk from Johor farmers,” he said.
Zulkafli said he also used to buy the variety from Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, but stopped as most of the bananas would spoil by the time shipment arrived in Johor Baru.
He said although he sold banana fritters of other varieties, his customers preferred pisang nipah and he could sell up to 100kg of them daily.
“Apart from banana fritters, I also sell fried tapioca, sweet potato, keropok lekor and Malay kuih, because otherwise I would have to close shop when banana supplies run low,” said Zulkafli.
Pisang goreng seller Zainal Payeng, 50, in Taman Perling, Johor Baru, said he needed about 40kg of pisang nipah daily.
“As far as I know, all pisang goreng sellers are getting their pisang nipah from Sabah.
“Some get them from Riau Islands in Indonesia but they are not as good as the ones from Sabah,” he said.
Zainal said Johor farmers started to have low pisang nipah harvests from 2005 until 2007, but there had been no harvest from 2008 until now.
He said Johor used to be the main producer of bananas in the country in the 1990s, especially pisang nipah, and even exported the fruit to Singapore.
“We are lucky as other varieties such as pisang nangka and pisang tanduk are spared from the disease, or else Malaysians will not be able to enjoy their pisang goreng,” added Zainal.
Panama disease that affects bananas is caused by a soil-borne fungus that can be difficult to control.
Symptoms include discoloured vascular bundles, yellowing leaf edges and rapid invasion of the rootstock and leaf bases. There is no cure.
