State govt urged to look into potential of vanilla planting
KUCHING: The state government is urged to look into the potential of vanilla planting in Sarawak for export.
In making this call, Pending assemblywoman Violet Yong said research works should be carried out to not just study the potential of vanilla planting, but to expand the scope of Sarawak’s agricultural development.
“To venture into a large- scale planting of vanilla, planters here need assistance from the state government either in the form of land or subsidies.
“I urge the state government to come up with a policy to encourage planters to tap into the planting of vanilla,” she said at a news conference here yesterday.
According to Yong, some 10 vanilla planters from Sg Moyan are serious and hoped the government could lend them a helping hand.
She quoted a vanilla planter, Liew Kuet Kong, as saying that the value of vanilla pods is higher than that of pepper and oil palm.
“Mr Liew says a kilogramme of vanilla pods is valued at about US$ 600 which is 100 times more than that of white pepper and 1,000 times higher than that of oil palm,” said Yong.
She added that not only are vanilla extracts meant for consumption but they can also be made into perfume, shampoo and others.
Yong believed that if properly managed, the planting of vanilla on a systematic and larger scale can bring a handsome return to the state’s economy.
She noted that Assistant Minister of Education and Technological Research Dr Annuar Rapaee had personally visited the vanilla plantation in Sg Moyan last month.
“We introduced Dr Annuar to the vanilla and enlightened him on the benefits of the plant. The assistant minister said he would look into it and help planters solve their problems,” she added.
She pointed out that she had also brought the same group of planters to meet Deputy Chief Minister and Minister of Modernisation of Agriculture, Native Land and Regional Development Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas during the last State Legislative Assembly ( DUN) sitting.
According to Yong, Uggah said it was the first time he saw a vanilla pod that was brought to him by those planters.
“He said that was the first time he saw it and that he will look into the matter because he does not know the value and potential of vanilla,” she said.
She said all vanilla planters here wanted was for the government to look into the means to export their produce.
She added that planters had aired their difficulties in exporting vanilla pods.
“Planting is not so much a problem to them but export is,” she said, adding that not only are there many procedures to go through, they had to get the green light from Putrajaya before they can export the product.
As such, Yong hoped that the state government would help vanilla planters here to tap into the industry.
To a question, she said the domestic market ‘is very limited’ while vanilla pods were sold at RM10 each locally.