While there is healthy demand for Malaysian exports of the MD2 pineapple variety, a number of factors are hampering the country’s ability to increase its production.
Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (FAMA) senior director, international division Nazipah Jamaludin told Fruitnet a number of factors have made growers reluctant to switch to production of the MD2 variety. “Smaller growers have been slow in jumping on the band wagon, primarily because of the high cost of production, which includes imported planting material and labour costs,” she said. Planting material for MD2, which is a cross between varieties from the Philippines and Mauritius, is currently imported from the Philippines.
Finding land to plant the variety was also difficult, she said as it required the right kind of soil and there was also competition for land with real-estate developers.
The variety has, however, been planted widely by large-scale growers in the southern part of the country where soil conditions are ideal for propagation of the fruit.
“The Malaysian Pineapple Industrial Board (MPIB) is expanding production of pineapple in the country by opening more land and offering attractive incentives to planters, especially in Pahang and the southern part of Johore. They also monitor the export level of Malaysian pineapples,” said Jamaludin.
Because of costs associated with production, the variety is predominantly exported while the domestic market remains small with Malaysian consumers preferring varieties such as the N36 and Josaphine for their taste and lower price.
“The MD2 is mostly planted for export markets, especially in the Middle East. Consumers there are familiar with the Golden Pineapple variety from other countries and they find the MD2 acceptable to their tastes,” she said.
“FAMA is consistently promoting Malaysian pineapple to China and the Middle East by undertaking promotional programmes such as trial shipments, in-store promotions and also through close cooperation with distributors in those markets.”
According to a report by Malaysian newspaper Bernama, last year 14,164ha were planted to the MD2 variety. Agriculture and agro-based industries minister Datuk Seri Noh Omar said, however, the country needed to have 18, 210ha of land planted to meet export demand.
The minister told the newspaper the Malaysian Pineapple Industry Board and the East Coast Economic Region Development Council had acquired 2,023ha in Rompin to develop plantations, and was looking to develop a similar sized area in Endau.
