Kelantan farmer reaps lucrative harvest from nanas cobek

TUMPAT,  April 17 --  Who would have thought that a former construction contractor, who tried growing 'nanas cobek' (pull-apart pineapple) in the country in 2019, is seeing success in his first big-scale harvest of the pineapple crop.

The 47-year-old grower, Mohd Alida'em Ibrahim, said the juicy and sweet pineapple is unique because it does not need to be peeled, with ripe fruitlets simply pulled apart using one’s fingers.

"During the final trial period of 2019, I planted 20,000 pineapple seeds and in February, I successfully harvested the first two tonnes of fruits cultivated on two hectares of land.

"I did not expect my trial crop to turn out well, and is able to give returns in tens of thousands of ringgit,” he told reporters when met at his pineapple orchard, Daimler Goxvilla Pine, here today.

Mohd Alida’em said although the 'nanas cobek’ variety is not been widely marketed, it commands a much higher price compared to regular pineapples.

He said the 'nanas cobek’ takes about 12 to 18 months to grow and can sell up to RM10 per kilogramme depending on the grade compared to regular varieties which are sold between RM4 and RM5 per kg.

"In terms of marketing, buyers will come to my farm to purchase the pineapples,” he said, adding the crop does not require a lot of water with occasional application of fertiliser.

Sharing his journey on the cultivation, Mohd Alida’em said he likes to try planting new agricultural varieties including planting 50,000 MD2 pineapple.

"I have a deep interest in agriculture. I have my own idle land of 27 acres. From there, it tempted me to try this nanas cobek pineapple variety.

"In fact, after the Ramadan month,  I plan to expand the Cobek and MD2 pineapple varieties and market them more widely," he said.

Mohd Ali said he also received guidance from the Malaysian Pineapple Industry Board (LPNM) for the best results in planting.

-- BERNAMA