PNK Bintulu, Shopee partnership set to open ‘sea of opportunities’ for over 700 fishermen
BINTULU: The Area Fishermen’s Association (PNK) of Bintulu is collaborating with online marketplace Shopee to open up a ‘sea of possibilities’ for more than 700 local fishermen.’
The association, under the guidance of the Malaysian Fisheries Development Authority (LKIM), now has its own official store on Shopee.
The ‘PNK Bintulu’ store showcases various types of fishes such as stingray, ‘ikan merah’ (red snapper), ‘jenahak’ (golden snapper), ‘tenggiri’ (local mackerel), ‘kerisi’ (threadfin bream), ‘demudok’ (local trevally) and ‘tongkol’ (local tuna), as well as other seafood like tiger prawns, king white prawns and squids.
In this respect, PNK Bintulu said the livelihood of the local fishermen was adversely affected by Covid-19, in that the restriction period in force left them with distribution challenges as they had to stay at home as a way to curb further spread of the coronavirus.
“Therefore, this (PNK Bintulu-Shopee) effort is part of the nationwide initiative by LKIM via the National Fishermen’s Association (Nekmat) to help 56,000 fishermen across the country by enabling the sales of fresh produce online to help recover their incomes and also to ensure that the supply would reach the people without it ever going to waste,” it said in a statement.
In other words, it would market their catch via Shopee and thus, the fishermen here would no longer need to worry about any loss of income, said PNK Bintulu.
Moreover, the PNK Bintulu-Shopee collaboration could be the start of a long-term venture under a digital agriculture sector in Malaysia, as previously announced by Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee.
“Apart from ensuring that the entire sector can be better prepared for more changes brought about by unforeseen circumstances in the future, farmers and fishermen are able to achieve self-sustainability after having learnt about ways to set up online stores and to sell (their produce) directly to customers,” said PNK Bintulu.
It is informed that PNK Bintulu’s delivery coverage spans overs area, up to Samalaju, within 30km radius from Kuala Tatau – it is projected that this would continue to expand over time.
All orders confirmed before 1pm would be delivered on the same day of processing – those confirmed after 1pm would be delivered the next day.
PNK Bintulu receives supplies of both fresh and frozen catch from fishermen every day and to maintain freshness, the frozen products would be sent to PNK Bintulu’s cold storage at LKIM Bintulu Complex at Jalan Sungai Nyigu.
“PNK Bintulu would buy the supplies from the fishermen, but the priority would be given to PNK Bintulu members,” it said, adding that the fishermen would be paid in cash upon landing their haul at LKIM Bintulu’s jetty.
Meanwhile in a statement, Shopee said in line with the government’s call to ensure ‘inclusivity for all’, it would continue to ‘stand in solidarity’ with any government’s effort to ensure that everyone would have a place in e-commerce, including farmers and fishermen.
“Since it (collaboration) has just been launched, we have yet to receive much feedback.
“PNK Bintulu strives to intensify the promotional activities for its online store on Shoppe, including through other platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp,” it added.
For more information, visit PNK Bintulu official store on Shopee via https://shopee.com. my/pnkbintulu.