The Malaysian Pineapple Industry Board (LPNM) is targeting to dominate five% of the world pineapple market under the 11th Malaysia Plan (RMK11), said its director-general Sahdan Salim.
He said the board was also aiming to expand the area under pineapple cultivation to 15,000ha in the country with a production of 700,000 metric tons per year.
“The targeted areas will include 3,500ha of plantations in Sarawak with a total production of 150,000 metric tons a year,” he said in his keynote address at the Pineapple Industry Seminar 2015, launched by Sarawak Deputy Chief
Minister Tan Sri Alfred Jabu Numpang today.
Sahdan said currently the pineapple plantation areas in the country totaled 10,319ha with a total production of 412,720 metric tons per year valued at RM577.4 million (ex-farm) while the wholesale price amounted to RM818.4 million.
He said pineapple exports for last year amounted to RM114.35 million with RM24.354 million from fresh pineapples – while canned pineapples were valued at RM37.1 million, pineapple juice (RM5 million) and slip/ornamental (RM 47.73 million).
Meanwhile Sahdan said the planting of pineapples in Sarawak would be intensified during RMK-11 beginning next year.
He hoped the allocation of RM25 million from the federal government to develop the pineapple industry under the RMK11 would further enhance the industry in Sarawak and at the same time would attract farmers to be involved in the industry.
Sahdan said Malaysia was the world’s 18th largest pineapple producer in the world.
