Kampot pepper yields expected to increase
Malaysia’s toppled leader set to go on trial over 1MDB scandal
YIELDS of Kampot pepper, which was awarded geographical indication (GI) status in 2016, are projected to increase in the upcoming harvest season despite forecasts of heavy drought, the Kampot Pepper Promotion Association (KPPA) said on Sunday.
Association president Ngoun Lay said that even after the government announced predictions of drought for this year, the next harvest season is expected to produce better yields.
“Our next harvesting season will reach 90 tonnes of Kampot pepper as farmers are more experienced with drought conditions and have a better understanding of water management.
“Our farmers now understand the situation well. They know how to reserve water for the dry season, as they have been experiencing drought since 2015,” he said.
Focus on red pepper
Lay said the KPPA harvested 69 tonnes last year, of which 53 tonnes were exported.
He said that this year, farmers would harvest from the beginning of March until the end of June, with an increased emphasis on producing red pepper.
“It is not much of a challenge currently for medium-sized farms as our farmers are able to control their production lines. But it is harder for investors in large farms as they have high production costs,” he said.
Kampot pepper’s GI area stood at 250ha in Kampot and Kep provinces in October last year, according to the KPPA. Within that area, 200ha had mature pepper plants that could be harvested.
“This season, we will focus on producing red pepper to meet market demand,” Lay said.
Kampot pepper’s major markets are the EU, the US, Japan and Canada. However, the KPPA is looking to many new destinations to expand the market further, such as South Korea, Hong Kong and China.
The KPPA has 457 member farmers and the organisation has partnered with 35 private companies to export its product to international markets.
The price of Kampot pepper remains at $15 per kg for black pepper, $25 for red pepper and $28 for white pepper.
One KPPA member, Pok Ly, who has an almost 2ha pepper farm with some 4,000 trees, expects to harvest three tonnes this year as the farm has received adequate water. Ly yielded two tonnes of pepper last year.
“It is not a concern for me as we have been reserving enough water to supply my trees until July.
“Since we already have experience of drought, most farmers have prepared by storing water – for example by digging wells and ponds and constructing water tanks,” he said. MALAYSIA’S toppled leader Najib Razak will go on trial this week over an extraordinary financial scandal that contributed to the downfall of his long-ruling coalition and reverberated around the world.
The former prime minister and his cronies are accused of stealing $4.5 billion from Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB in a mind-boggling fraud that stretched from Switzerland to the Seychelles.
The money was purportedly used to fund a global shopping spree – a $250million super-yacht, high-end real estate, and Monet and Van Gogh artworks were among the items allegedly bought with cash plundered from public coffers.
The scandal ensnared celebrities, with the fraud’s suspected mastermind seen partying with Leonardo DiCaprio and Paris Hilton, while the new Malaysian government has accused Wall Street titan Goldman Sachs of stealing billions during its work with 1MDB.
Public revulsion at the graft allegations played a large part in the election defeat of Najib – who set up the fund – and a coalition that had ruled Malaysia uninterrupted since independence from Britain in 1957.
Since his shock poll loss in May, the 65-year-old has been arrested and hit with 42 charges linked to the scandal. He has vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
Far from keeping quiet, the aristocratic ex-leader has mounted a publicity blitz, seeking to present himself as a man of the people and constantly hurling jibes at the new government.
Mounting allegations
This week’s trial, starting on Tuesday, centres on allegations that 42 million ringgit ($10.3 million) was transferred from SRC International, a former 1MDB unit, into Najib’s personal bank accounts.
The case i nvolves t hree counts of money-laundering, three of criminal breach of trust – where someone is accused of dishonestly using something entrusted to them – and one of abuse of power. Najib has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
It is just one of several trials Najib is expected to face over 1MDB and involves a fraction of the total purportedly stolen from the fund, and the $681 million that allegedly ended up in his personal accounts.
But the start of the first trial is nevertheless a key moment, and may relieve pressure on the new government following criticism that it has been slow to act over 1MDB.
“It’s an important moment, albeit a very delayed one,” said Cynthia Gabriel, who was a member of a government committee set up to investigate the scandal.
“It is very critical for the new government to address and resolve past scandals,” added Gabriel, head of the nonprofit The Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism.
The former leader and his defence team have portrayed the cases against him as revenge by the new government led by 93-year-old Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, Najib’s mentorturned-nemesis.
Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, Najib’s chief lawyer, labelled the upcoming trial “political”.
“If you give me a straight judge, a straight system of justice, and the witnesses are left to themselves without being coached, I’ll win this case,” he said.
Trial dates have been set until the end of March and prosecutors are expected to call dozens of witnesses.
In recent weeks, Najib has transformed into an unlikely social media phenomenon, gaining a large number of followers online by attacking the new government’s policies and posting pictures of visits to homes where he talked to people about economic problems. AFP