(From front) Sheikh Umar, Yap, Suffian and Ali Yusup during the visit to the SG1 pineapple plantation at TG Agro Fruit Sdn Bhd in Kampung Sungai Tukau yesterday.
MIRI (April 19): A total of 7,000 pineapples of the new variety Sarawak Gold 1 (SG1) weighing 10.5 metric tonnes will be sent to Peninsular Malaysia from TG Agro Fruit Sdn Bhd’s plantation in Kampung Sungai Tukau here.
Malaysian Pineapple Industry Board (MPIB) chairman Sheikh Umar Bagharib Ali said the fruits will be placed in a 20-foot temperature-controlled cold container and will be sent to Johor Bahru tomorrow.
The container is expected to arrive at Pasir Gudang Port at the end of this month, with delivery duration of two weeks.
Umar added that the 200-acre SG1 pineapple plantation in Sungai Tukau, which is located more than 12 kilometres from Miri city centre, were pioneers in the cultivation, development and production of SG1 pineapples.
He was accompanied by Sarawak MPIB director Mohammad Suffian Sahmat during his visit to the plantation yesterday.
According to him, MPIB’s Marketing Development Division, in collaboration with the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Mardi), is conducting quality observations and evaluations to see the durability and marketability of SG1 pineapples in the farm.
He added that the purpose of the work visit was to see the diversity of SG1 pineapple products.
The fruits will be distributed to entrepreneurs selling canned and fresh pineapples as well as pineapple processing industries in the peninsula.
“To find out how long SG1 can last in a cold room, during delivery and for export, we will conduct observations and experiments,” he explained.
He said, at this point, the demand for local pineapples from foreign countries is getting higher. However, the country is only able to produce more than 800 containers of pineapples compared to the international export demand of approximately 4,000 containers.
He foresees that SG1 pineapples could contribute to increasing the supply of pineapple exports due to the advantages of the variety – the short harvest period of nine months and the planting density of up to 22,000 trees in one acre – which doubles the production.
“SG1 is a rather unique variety that is ideal for export because of its shape and smaller crest, among other characteristics,” he explained.
Sheikh Umar pointed out that MPIB has closely followed and guided the development of the SG1 variety here since the beginning of 2022 until today.
In 2021, pineapple tendrils began to be developed and grown commercially in stages at Sungai Tukau Pineapple Plantation on a 10-hectare land by Syarikat TG Agro Fruits Sdn Bhd, an entrepreneur registered under MPIB Sarawak.
Additionally, a preparation session for the purpose of observing the export of SG1 pineapples to Peninsular Malaysia was conducted during the visit.
Also present during the visit were managing director of TG Agro Fruit Sdn Bhd Dato Yap Foot Loy and Peladang Ning Sdn Bhd Board of Directors member Ali Yusup Suaal.