Mohd Hafiz says demand for coconut in the state is about 105,000kg a year.
THE price of coconut-based products is expected to increase slightly as the current monsoon season may affect production at the plantations.
Johor Agriculture Department deputy director for development Mohd Hafiz Ramly said production would be affected as coconut farmers would not be able to harvest the fruit during rainy season.
“This will cause a price increase in coconut end products such as coconut milk.
“Coconut trees have a short root system, so they could fall during strong winds.
“Also, coconut trees that are around two years old will wither if they are inundated for more than three days,” he said when contacted.
Coconut manufacturing factories would also be affected as they require a constant large supply for processing, he added.
“These factories depend on imported coconut and usually, the monsoon season will also affect other coconut-producing countries such as Thailand and Indonesia,” Mohd Hafiz added.
According to him, the state produced 106,723 tonnes of coconut in 2020, accounting for 19% of the country’s total production of 560,984 tonnes.
“The highest production came from Batu Pahat with 54,138 tonnes, followed by Pontian (25,544 tonnes) and Muar (11,207 tonnes).
“The department also has a recovery programme, through the incentives given to coconut farmers, for plantations that are affected by the monsoon,” he said.
These incentives include developing and upgrading the infrastructure, such as clearing and cleaning the drainage system and plantation roads.
It also covers any replanting work on coconut seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and integrated plants, besides providing machinery to help the farmers.
Mohd Hafiz also shared that the demand for coconut in the state was about 105,000kg a year and the department would need an additional 2,650ha from the current 11,886ha to meet the demand.
“For the next five years, the state government is planning to introduce 265ha of new coconut plantation in the first phase to meet the growing demand.
“The plan also includes increasing the production of coconut seeds a year from the current 28,000 seeds to 53,000 a year,” he said, adding that the Federal Government had also allocated RM500,000 for tree replanting projects this year.
“The replanting project will involve 463ha of plantation.
“The state government has also allocated RM400,000 for a tree recovery project involving 96ha of land, where unproductive trees will be replaced with a new hybrid such as the ‘matag’ and ‘pandan’ varieties,” he explained.
