KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 27 — Malaysia will continue importing old coconuts from Indonesia, Thailand, and Sri Lanka until the local supply stabilises, the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry announced today.
The ministry said it has imported and distributed 661,761 coconuts (661 metric tonnes) so far through 42 Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (Fama) operation centres nationwide to Fama grocery outlets and other major wholesalers.
“These efforts will continue until the supply of domestic coconuts returns to stable levels,” the ministry said in a statement.
The local coconut supply began dwindling in October due to hot weather and monkeys ravaging the crops, forcing traders to hike up prices of the fruit since December.
The ongoing supply crunch has also led traders to increase the price of coconut milk (“santan”) to between RM15 and RM20 per kilogramme and the price of grated coconut (“kelapa parut”) to RM12 per kilogramme this month.
The ministry said the Agriculture Department will also initiate long-term measures under the 12th Malaysia Plan to ensure a stable supply of local coconuts.
These initiatives include replanting in existing old coconut areas, planting new coconut trees, and producing seeds from high-yielding varieties such as Matag, Kelapa Pandan, Malayan Yellow Dwarf, and Malayan Red Dwarf.
“Lands identified for coconut cultivation to step up local production will be utilised with the support of state governments and the Pertubuhan Peladang Kawasan (PPK) under Lembaga Pertubuhan Peladang (LPP).
“LPP has carried out 43 coconut cultivation projects since 2016 across the country, amounting to 123,426 coconut trees sprawling across 643.42 hectares of land,” it added.