Warehouse overstock forces MPB to stop buying pepper

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Larry Sng Wei Shien

SIBU: The Malaysian Pepper Board (MPB) warehouses are filled to overflowing forcing the board to stop buying pepper from farmers in Sarawak, beginning this Aug 8.

In announcing the drastic move yesterday, Julau MP Larry Sng Wei Shien – who is also MPB chairman – explained that the board would time to clear the current stock to make space.

In this regard, he called upon pepper farmers to stay calm.

“MPB is doing its best to stabilise prices and to expedite the processing of pepper for exports,” he said when contacted yesterday.

Sng said MPB would continue to purchase pepper at a fair price from local pepper farmers once its warehouses could accommodate new stocks.

“Unfortunately, there is oversupply in the market, and traders have taken a speculative position by suppressing prices and selling their goods at a profit to MPB by posing as local farmers. This is wrong, and MPB is serious about taking the necessary actions,” he said.

Sng advised farmers to hold on to their stocks while waiting for MPB to stabilise the price.

“MPB will stabilise price and continue to purchase above the market level in the short term,” he assured, disclosing that there are currently 33,767 pepper farmers in the country.