Willie (third left) in a photo call with the recipients of the Entrepreneur Registration Certificates.
KUCHING (March 2): The selling price for pepper products nationwide is expected to increase in the near future, said federal Deputy Minister of Plantations and Commodities Datuk Willie Mongin.
The Puncak Borneo MP asserted that the current price for quality black pepper has risen to RM10.10 per kilogramme (kg) and RM17.40/kg for white pepper.
“Well, we cannot deny the fact that we have fierce competition from other countries such as Vietnam, but what makes it unique in Malaysia is that the Sarawak pepper has better quality and aroma which makes it hard for other (pepper-producing) countries to follow. We need to harness this advantage.
“Under the leadership of the new Malaysian Pepper Board (MPB) director-general Phillip Gaweng and his team, he has shown progress and also improvement in the pepper industry,” he said at a press conference after a ceremony to hand over face masks and hand sanitisers to pepper industry stakeholders at MPB headquarters here today.
Willie revealed there are two main states for pepper production in Malaysia, namely Sarawak and Johor. He added that Sarawak has produced more pepper than Johor.
Thus, he called on all pepper stakeholders and all parties involved to cooperate and continue improving and increasing their respective pepper quality in ensuring the economic continuity in the nation.
Meanwhile, Willie also presented Entrepreneur Registration Certificates to six pepper agropreneurs at the ceremony.
“I am glad to be able to present these certificates because this shows that the pepper downstream agricommodity sector is getting more places among the pepper industry activists.
“The increasing number of these downstream entrepreneurs is also in line with the Ministry and the agency’s goals to produce more pepper agropreneurs that will produce quality pepper-based products,” he said when speaking at the event.
Willie also presented assistance vouchers under the Economic Stimulus Package (PRE) to 12 recipients consisting of pepper farmers from Serian Division and Bau district amounting to RM7,050.