Malaysian farmers still lack awareness on producing fruits with different shapes

The level of awareness on producing fruits of different shapes among farmers in the country was still low despite the aesthetic and commercial values of such fruits were higher than in their original form, said Putrajaya Agriculture Department Horticulture Division officer Adibah Abd Rauf.

She said the demand for the fruits, such as in square and heart shapes, in countries like Japan was really high and serving as good profits for the farmers.

"The fruits with such shapes have high values. The normal prices for watermelon or rock melon are usually between RM8 and RM12 per kg. However, the prices can fetch up to between RM60 and RM70 per kilogramme if the shapes are varied.

"In Japan, the people over there would normally buy these fruits as gifts to special guests or the VIPs," she told Bernama when met at the 2017 National Farmers, Livestock Breeders and Fishermen Day (HPPNK) festival at the Malaysia Agriculture Exposition Park Serdang (MAEPS) here Sunday.

Adibah said there had been farmers who attempted to produce such fruits but the number was still very low.

"Currently, there are two or three of them (farmers) in Serdang and Besut, Terengganu as well as several others during the previous MAHA (Malaysia Agriculture, Horticulture and Agro-Tourism) who asked about (producing such fruits) and tried on one or two trees of their own," she said.

Adibah also said the department was now experimenting on watermelons and rock melons but the effort was still at research level.

"The department is still studying the durability of the fruits should they were to be exported overseas. The quality of the fruits will not change regardless whether they are produced normally or in the mould.

"In fact, the cultivation and care methods are just the same (as growing normal fruits) but there is an additional cost to prepare the mould," she said.

Adibah said the current price for a mould was pretty expensive due to the unavailability of manufacturer to produce the right mould in accordance to specifications.

"We used imported moulds from Japan in our first attempt. Since we have produced homemade moulds, the price can go up to RM200 each. However, if the fruits can be commercialised, the price of the moulds will be much cheaper," she added.

-- BERNAMA