JOHOR BAHRU: The Malaysian Pineapple Industry Board (LPNM) has announced that the pineapple cultivation and production area in Sarawak now stands at 2,450 hectares.
LPNM chairman Sheikh Umar Bagharib Ali said that to realise the Sarawak government’s target of expanding pineapple plantations to 20,000 hectares by 2030, comprehensive cooperation from various parties was required.
“LPNM will continue to support and contribute in any way we can to help achieve this goal. We need to establish annual growth projections that must be met to expand pineapple cultivation,” he said at a press conference after the signing of the Kenyalang Pineapple Sarawak Project agreement between JG Sarava Sdn Bhd and Mate Clove Sdn Bhd at the LPNM headquarters, here today.
Sheikh Umar said LPNM welcomed the strategic initiative, which aimed not only to scale up pineapple cultivation in Sarawak but also to encourage active participation from industry players.
Meanwhile, JG Sarava Sdn Bhd managing director Datuk Jeyarajan Sri Ramalu said the partnership inked today involved an initial investment of up to RM150 million to explore opportunities in developing the pineapple industry, which had high potential in the state.
He said the project currently involves the cultivation of a pineapple plantation with a target area of 1,000 hectares, covering areas such as Bintangor, Pulau Bunut, and Kampung Lebaan.
“We have also identified other areas like Dalat, Oya and Debak, which are undergoing land clearing for cultivation. Mate Clove has already started work in these planting zones,” he said.
He added that the project also focused on developing a nursery to overcome the shortage of pineapple slips (sulur) required for large-scale planting and aimed to expand cultivation to 12,000 hectares in the long term.
In December 2023, the media reported that the Sarawak government planned to increase the pineapple plantation acreage in the state to 20,000 hectares by 2030.