Govt to expand pineapple cultivation with booming global demand

TANJUNG PIAI: The Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry is focusing on finding suitable land nationwide for pineapple cultivation to meet booming demands for the fruit.

Its Deputy Minister Datuk Che Abdullah Mat Nawi said the country's pineapple industry was growing rapidly, with last year's export for pineapple based products at RM491mil.

"This is a 60% increase from the RM343mil we recorded in 2018," he said during his working visit to the Pineapple Technology Development Unit at Alor Bukit in Pekan Nanas here on Friday (June 12).

Che Abdullah said the country exported pineapple products to more than 20 countries, including Singapore, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, China, Japan and Saudi Arabia.

He also said despite the 16,653ha of pineapple plantations nationwide, Malaysia was still not producing enough to meet the demands from the global market.

"Shanghai alone requested 100 containers of pineapples to be sent there every month, but we are only able to send about 10 containers a month.

"We see a lot of potential for the pineapple industry in this country where it can be our new economy, which is why the ministry, through the Malaysian Pineapple Industry Board (MPIB), is looking for new lands," he added.

He said under the 11th Malaysian Plan, the MPIB set a target of 7,120ha of land for pineapple cultivation but it now has more than 11,000ha of land.

"However, even with the increase in land size, it is still not enough for us to meet demands from overseas markets for Malaysia's pineapple," he added.

Che Abdullah also said that Johor was currently the biggest pineapple producer in the country, followed by Sarawak, Pahang, Sabah and Kedah.

"Johor contributes to about 58% of the country's pineapple production meant for both local and international demand," he added.

He said even the movement control order (MCO) did not affect the pineapple sector here.

"The ministry has set up an operation room, which still operates seven days a week, to make sure that our food supply chain is not affected with the MCO," he said.