Najib launches ‘eat more local fruits’ campaign

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak yesterday launched the ‘Eat More Local Fruits’ campaign to promote local fruits and fruitbased products, which was held in the compound of the Parliament building, here.

He was accompanied by his deputy, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to the campaign site about 1.30pm.

Also present were Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek and his deputy Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman.

After launching the campaign, the prime minister visited several tents that featured local fruits such as durian, rambutan, jackfruit, starfruit, banana and mangosteen, as well as fruit-based products such as chips, ice cream and bread.

The fruits were served free of charge to the members of Parliament, government officials and media representatives who were in Parliament yesterday.

Meanwhile, Ahmad Shabery told reporters that the current export value of durian had reached over RM74 million and was expected to increase if more overseas markets were penetrated.

“The situation shows that the fruit industry can be one of the new wealth generators for the country in view of its growing market. We target to increase the value of durian exports this year by 10 per cent, compared to RM74 million previously,” he said. — Bernama