Companies keen to plant durians urged to meet ministry

KOTA KINABALU: Agriculture Department director Datuk Idrus Shafie has advised the companies involved in a joint venture to embark on a durian plantation project to meet the Agriculture and Food Industry Ministry.

“If they want to plant 1,500 hectares of land (with durian trees), it must be for export. We would advise them to meet the ministry because there may be issues related to certification (that they need to fulfill) later. They need to consult us,” he said.

He, however, said that this did not mean that the ministry wanted to stop the venture, but rather, to ensure that both parties involved will not have exporting problems in the future.

Speaking to reporters regarding Agriculture and Food Industry Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Yahya Hussin's address on Tuesday, Idrus explained that the ministry is a regulatory body.

Both were commenting on a report citing the Beijing Dianshi Investment Ltd and Bornion Timber Sdn Bhd as parties keen on working together on a durian plantation project on 1,500 hectares of land to plant 10,000 durian trees.

Meanwhile, Yahya said that if the land for the development concerned was a forest management unit (FMU), then the correct department to deal with would be the Forestry Department.

He also said that the ministry encouraged the planting of durians in Keningau, if the land was found suitable and added that subsidies were available for those interested to venture into durian farming.