Kelantan Has Potential To Become Major Local Onion Producer – Mohamad Sabu

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 18 (Bernama) -- The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (KPKM) is optimistic that Kelantan has the potential to become a major producer of local onions next year.

Its minister, Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu, said the state’s soil fertility was deemed suitable for onion cultivation and initial trials showed promising results.

He said KPKM had approved an allocation of RM6 million for the Onion Cultivation Development Project in three states, namely Selangor, Perak and Kelantan, involving 80 participants with an area of 94.85 hectares (ha), which includes 11 farmers (40 ha) in Selangor, 52 farmers (26.85 ha) in Kelantan, and 17 farmers (28 ha) in Perak.

Recently, Kelantan carried out its first harvest with an expected production yield of 18.4 tonnes from an area of 4.6 ha at the Telong Food Production Park (TKPM) in Bachok, which used the BAW-1 and BAW-2 varieties.

"This harvest result shows a positive achievement as it recorded high production of around four tonnes per hectare, so Insya-Allah, next year we want Kelantan to become the main producer of this onion because its land is fertile for onion cultivation," he said when winding up the debate on the motion on the 13th Malaysia Plan (RMK13) for KPKM in the Dewan Rakyat today.

Regarding production costs, Mohamad explained that a comprehensive study has not yet been conducted to determine the actual cost comparison between local and imported onions.

“Regarding production costs, we still don't have precise figures. Some use the greenhouse method, which is quite expensive. Overall, the government has not yet finalised the production cost for one tonne of local onions.

“The cost also varies depending on whether it is grown outdoors or in a greenhouse. However, we see that the price gap with imported onions is not too wide," he said.

He also said that although there are no official figures yet, the government expects local onion production to reduce dependence on onion imports by up to 30 per cent.

"This year we are focusing on seed production, and next year it will be distributed. Insya-Allah, if everything goes smoothly, we can save one-third, 30 per cent of onion imports, that's our hope," he added.

-- BERNAMA