KUALA LUMPUR: The Plantation and Commodities Ministry will focus on promoting the development of downstream industries based on local pepper production, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.
Fadillah, who is also the Plantation and Commodities Minister, said the ministry would also focus on efforts to produce high-quality pepper for the international market.
"Malaysian pepper is premium and of better quality. Demand from European countries is more focused on our pepper. We also get higher prices, especially from countries like Japan, South Korea and Sweden.
"So, we encourage the development of downstream pepper industries, not only as a spice for food but now diversify into perfumes, tea and so on," he said when winding up the committee-level debate on the Supply Bill 2024 for the Plantation and Commodities Ministry at the Dewan Rakyat today (November 7).
Fadillah said Malaysia is now ranked second in terms of the number of downstream pepper products produced with about 10 products compared with India, which has about 40 downstream pepper products.
He said in terms of pepper production, the ministry is cooperating with universities and industry players to increase local pepper production as the number of smallholders is decreasing.
"We also use smart farming and Internet of Things (IoT) for precision farming. We have also collaborated with Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) and the pilot test results show quite positive effects.
"If this succeeds, we will roll it out to the entire country and it will increase pepper production productivity and ultimately, we will produce better products," he added. Parliament session will resume tomorrow (November 8). – Bernama