The Malaysian Pineapple Industry Board (MPIB) wants to see more Malaysians getting involved in pineapple cultivation, so the nation can take advantage of its huge export potential, especially coming from China.
MPIB director-general Ruhaida Mashhor has stated the country’s production of the fruit crop had increased between 3 and 5 percent annually: “This year, the country’s pineapple production increased to RM530 million (€113.8 mln) compared to RM502 million (€107.8 mln) last year, which was a jump of about five percent, with export contributing about RM342 million (€73.4 mln).
“The volume of exports appears to be low, as the existing production is used to fulfil domestic demand,” she told reporters after launching the Farm-to-Farm Transformation Project at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Kedondong.
Currently, the size of pineapple farms in the country stands at about 16,000 hectares including those owned by the private sector. Nevertheless, it is still insufficient to meet foreign demand for the fruit crop, she said.
“China, for example, needs 100 containers of pineapple a week but we can only supply up to 10 containers a week. Therefore, we see pineapple as having great potential for further growth due to high local and foreign demand,” she said. As such, Ruhaida encourages the involvement of young people to jointly develop the country’s pineapple industry.
