By Nur Shazreena Ali & Sarah Hafizah Chandra
KUCHING: The pepper production sector in the country is expected to drop about 10 to 20 percent this year due to the falling price of the commodity.
Plantation Industries and Commodities Deputy Minister Willie Mongin said the country’s pepper production volume this year was only about 30,000 tonnes matrix, compared to last year which recorded about 35,000 tonnes.
“The failing price of the commodity was mainly due to poor farm maintenance. The farmers were unable to harvest their crop because of the enforcement of the movement control order,” he said at a press conference after handing out the Smallholder’s Agricultural Input Assistance incentive to recipients here at Malaysia Pepper Board Sarawak here on Monday (Sept 28).
Recognising Sarawak as the largest pepper producer in the country, Willie said the pepper’s plunging selling price that had affected farmers in Sarawak signals the urgency for all agencies under the ministry to expand its strategic partnerships in the international sector.
“Sarawak contributes 98 percent to the nation’s pepper production and the uncertainty of the Covid19 pandemic has affected the global pepper prices.
“The small farmers have no other choice but to reduce fertiliser input for their pepper farm,” he added.
