PASIR PUTEH: As the Northeast Monsoon (MTL) season approaches, entrepreneurs in this district are increasing the production of fish crackers (keropok) and dried fish (ikan kering) to meet the expected demand.
Mat Hassan Mat Ali, a 62-year-old entrepreneur of Keropok Cap Ikan Kelisa Mas, said that during the monsoon period, the supply of fish would decrease, forcing them to rely on supplies from outside Kelantan and Terengganu.
"When the MTL season arrives, the supply of fish, such as from Tok Bali and Kuala Besut in Terengganu, will decrease.
"So we are taking advantage of the good weather and abundant fish supply to increase the production of fish crackers," he said when met in Kampung Pachakan here.
The entrepreneur said that with the help of nearly 10 workers, he can produce about 300 to 400 kilogrammes of different types of fish crackers daily.
Mat Hassan is one of the many manufacturers of keropok keping, keropok lekor, satar and otak-otak in Kampung Pachakan and Kampung Dalam Rhu near the Kuala Besur border.
Elaborating, he said that if fish supplies from around Kelantan and Terengganu were disrupted, entrepreneurs could still source the raw material from other states such as Kedah, Penang and Johor.
"We can still produce the crackers during the monsoon season but not on a large scale. We can only dry them in a special room," he said.
A dried fish entrepreneur, Muhammad Luqman Mohd Nor, in his 20s, shared this view, saying the current hot weather allowed him to dry fish using traditional methods.
"I get supplies of tamban and gelama fish from Tok Bali and Kuala Besut, but during MTL, there is a shortage of fish supply because fishermen are unable to go out to sea," he said.
The Malaysian Meteorological Department had forecast four to six episodes of heavy rainfall starting next month till February 2024 that have the potential to cause floods in high-risk areas.
During that period, heavy rains are expected to hit Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang from next month to December before moving to Johor and Sarawak from December to January next year. --BERNAMA