Dr. Rundi speaks at a press conference after delivering his ministry's winding-up speech at the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly today. - Photo: Mohd Alif Noni
May 14, 2024
KUCHING: Minister of Food Industry, Commodities, and Regional Development, Datuk Seri Dr. Stephen Rundi Utom, said Sarawak remains the main producer of pepper, contributing to 98 percent of pepper cultivated in Malaysia.
He said that as of 2023, Sarawak had approximately 8,015 hectares of pepper farms, representing an increase of 1.8 percent from 7,870 hectares in 2022.
Registered under the Geographical Indication (GI) and employing strict profiling methods to prevent and protect against the exploitation of the Sarawak pepper brand in the market, he said global demand for Sarawak pepper remains high, especially from countries like Japan, China, Taiwan, and South Korea.
"To strengthen the development of the pepper industry and ensure its sustainability as the leading pepper-producing region in the country, the ministry, through the Sarawak Land Development Board (SLDB), will lead strategic downstream initiatives for Sarawak pepper by establishing modern packaging factories.
"This initiative aims to drive the pepper industry in this region while providing incentives for private sector involvement in downstream pepper efforts," he said.
He said this in his winding-up speech for the Ministry of Food Industry, Commodities, and Regional Development at the 19th Sarawak State Legislative Assembly session here today.
In related developments, he said Sarawak's export of dried cocoa beans last year decreased to RM0.4 million from RM0.82 million compared to 2022.
He attributed this situation to many cocoa farmers abandoning their cocoa fields, especially in cocoa belt areas, due to the increasing production costs, especially for fertilizers.
