THE occurrence of black spots on the famous Musang King durian is possibly due to the El Nino phenomenon, says Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu.
The Agriculture and Food Security Minister said although there was no specific study on the impact of the phenomenon, the black spots had resulted in the drop of prices of the King of Fruits.
“Some people have temporarily stopped importing the fruit due to this. Could this be caused by climate change?
“But now Musang King is cheaper and more people can enjoy it.
“The supply is high but there are some black spots but I believe it is not dangerous for consumption,” said Mohamad, who is popularly known as Mat Sabu,
He was responding to a question from Nurul Amin Hamid (PN-Padang Terap), who asked for the measures taken by the government to mitigate the impact of the El Nino phenomenon on the country’s food security, particularly rice cultivation.
On the food security issue, Mohamad Sabu said the government was viewing the issue seriously and it was a global phenomenon.
“Food security has become a main agenda globally, not only in Malaysia.
“And inflation happens all over the world. For instance in the United Kingdom, the inflation has reached about 11%.
“There are egg shortages in the United States and New Zealand. It’s a global phenomenon and we take it seriously,” he said.
He said to produce rice on a large scale was among the government’s main agenda.
“It has started and the largest one is being conducted by the Muda Agriculture Development Authority in Kedah.
“We need to ensure the rice production is enough and we are hopeful that we can achieve our target,” he added.
