Page 210 - Westport Guide To Malaysia

202 PLANTATIONS AND COMMODITIES
Cocoa is an important crop, with exports of cocoa and cocoa products earning RM6 billion annually. The photo shows a cocoa orchard with freshly harvested pods (left) and dry cocoa beans (right).
million and the balance used for downstream activities and local sale. It is primarily a smallholder crop, providing reliable and dependable cash income for more than 38,000 rural families. Many Sarawakian graduates from rural areas claim that their college fees were paid from their families’ pepper gardens, visits to which are also a popular tourist attraction. The Malaysian Pepper Board, based in Kuching, is active in promoting pepper and upgrading the quality of the crop, developing new and sustainable products such as organic pepper, and providing facilities such as steam- sterilising plants. Sarawak Pepper is protected
under Geographical Indication (GI) and is well- known internationally
for its quality and
depth of flavour.
Kenaf
Kenaf is a new commodity crop and source of growth developed by
the Government through the National Kenaf and
current yearly capacity of around 360,000 tonnes
of cocoa beans. In the
12th Malaysia Plan, the country will continue to increase cocoa production through Good Agriculture Practices and cocoa planting intercropping with other economic crops. A cocoa trading hub will be established at Johor Port to ease the importation of cocoa beans. There are also programmes to increase farmers’ income by
producing premium cocoa beans with higher quality and fine flavour beans.
Pepper
Malaysia, or more precisely Sarawak with 98% of
the national crop, is
the world’s fifth largest producer of pepper. It produces approximately 30,000 tonnes annually,
of which about 10,000 tonnes are being exported yearly with a value of approximately RM250
A pepper garden in Sarawak (left) and pepper fruits ripening (right). Known for its superb quality, Sarawak pepper commands a premium price in the global pepper market.