Harumanis now available in Sabah via airasia farm
KUCHING: From the northernmost part of Malaysia to the most eastern state, airasia farm, as an official distributor, has made it possible for the much sought-after Harumanis mangoes of Perlis to be available to the mass market in Sabah for the first time.
The first shipment carrying the popular mangoes departed from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (klia2) via AirAsia flight AK5104. The flight was sent off by Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee, Minister of Agriculture and Food Industries together with Datuk Kamarudin Meranun, executive chairman of airasia Group and Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, chief exeuctive officer of airasia Group.
The flag off event is part of the ‘Harumanis Kembali Lagi’ campaign led by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries (MAFI), in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture (DOA), as well as the Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (FAMA) of Perlis to further promote the Harumanis mangoes.
The mangoes will be sent to Tune Hotels Kota Kinabalu as a pickup point for its delivery partners in Sabah. Airasia farm also seeks to distribute the famed mangoes to key retailers in Kota Kinabalu.
Ronald said MAFI is pleased to join hands with the private sector such as airasia farm to promote the ‘Harumanis Kembali Lagi’ campaign.
“This collaboration will not only expand the distribution of Harumanis across Malaysia, but also brings the exclusive mangoes to Sabah officially for the first time, in line with the ministry’s emphasis on highvalued agriculture that can create economic opportunities for the people,” he said.
“This year MAFI is expecting the harvest to reach 3,336 tonnes, which is valued at RM66.7 million in Perlis.
“We anticipate about 50 per cent will be sold online through the e-commerce platforms such as airasia food, airasia fresh and agrobazaar online.”
He also reiterated that the Harumanis industry would not only increase the income of over 2,415 farmers across Perlis, but also have a significant impact on the economy as well as agro-tourism and supply chain industries across the country.
Lalitha Sivanaser, general manager of airasia farm said: “The first shipment of Harumanis mangoes as an export commodity is made possible by leveraging on airasia group’s vast ecosystem and technology such as Teleport and our e-commerce platforms with airasia food and airasia fresh.”
She added that the synergy with the ministry enables the Harumanis mangoes to be delivered in Sabah in less than 72 hours upon harvest to ensure that the fruit is truly fresh from the farm.
“We believe technology and digitalisation will not only add value to the agriculture sector but also improve the country’s entire food industry supply chain from production, distribution to consumption.
“Our long term goal is to bring better value to benefit thousands of Harumanis farmers across Perlis so they can generate a larger income for their harvest online and hopefully across the region in the future,” said Lalitha.
The signature Perlis mangoes are now available for online order on airasia fresh and airasia food in West Malaysia as well as on foodpanda in Sabah. Customers in West Malaysia can choose the options to schedule their delivery with airasia fresh or have it delivered in an hour of purchase with airasia food.