Johor has potential to become downstream pepper hub, says Fadillah

 

Fadillah Yusof said Sarawak is the biggest producer of pepper in Malaysia, but in the peninsula, Johor has the most number of smallholders cultivating the crop. (Facebook pic)

KULAI: Johor has the potential to become a downstream pepper hub due to its strategic location and proximity to Singapore, says deputy prime minister Fadillah Yusof.

He said that due to the state’s close proximity to Singapore, it enjoys a market advantage, particularly within the food processing industry. This presents a significant opportunity for the pepper market.

Fadillah, who is also plantation and commodities minister, said it was important to have downstream activities for products produced in the state to encourage more exports.

“In Malaysia, the biggest producer of pepper is Sarawak, but in the peninsula, Johor has the most smallholders. So, Johor can be a hub for the downstream pepper industry,” he told reporters here after officiating a pepper industry entrepreneurs’ empowerment programme.

Since last year, Fadillah said a pilot project using the “smart farming” technique in Sarawak was part of the government’s efforts to improve planting methods while also increasing the yield and income of smallholders.

He hoped the pilot project would be successfully implemented and expanded to other states.

“Among our focus areas are research and development, education, producing seeds more suitable for the current situation, and increasing productivity,” he added.

Earlier in his speech, he said the government was concerned about the plight of small commodity farmers who had been affected by the global economic slowdown.

He said his ministry, through the Malaysian Pepper Board, had increased the assistance for the new pepper planting scheme (STLB) to RM46,000 per hectare from RM26,000.

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For the ripe pepper crop scheme (STLM), the rate has been increased to RM25,000 per hectare compared to RM13,000 previously.

“In total, assistance amounting to RM1.14 million has been approved under STLB and STLM, with a total area of 47ha of crops. This will benefit 241 farmers,” he said.

Fadillah said Malaysia was the fifth largest producer of pepper in the world after Vietnam, Brazil, India and Indonesia, with the country recording an export value of RM181.4 million in 2022 compared to RM153.5 million in 2021. - FMT