KUCHING, Aug 19 (Bernama) -- World cocoa prices are currently on the rise, thus making the crop a commodity with high potential to generate lucrative returns.
The Malaysian Cocoa Board (LKM) in a statement today said that in 2024, the average price of dry cocoa beans grew by 141 per cent to RM24,274 per tonne compared to RM10,073 per tonne in the previous year.
“The Cocoa Cultivation Promotion Programme for the Plantation Sector will be implemented by the board from 2025 to 2030 with an allocation of RM550,000 per year.
“Via this programme, LKM will distribute high-quality cocoa seedlings for free, provide technical guidance, practical training and continuous monitoring to ensure that cocoa planting is carried out according to the best agricultural practices,” the board said.
So far, it said, several Malaysian plantation companies have participated in the programme, with a total area of 360 hectares.
Companies selected to participate in the programme would receive incentives in the form of 5,000 high-quality cocoa seedlings worth RM50,000, in addition to technical advisory services including nursery development, planting systems and others, it said.
“Within five years, the programme aims to expand the cocoa plantation area by 2,750 hectares nationwide.
“The plantation sector is an important driver in increasing cocoa production sustainably to meet the demand of local manufacturers, while supporting efforts to make Malaysia a producer of premium cocoa and ‘single origin’ cocoa beans, which are increasingly gaining traction in the world market,” said LKM.
Earlier, LKM organised the Cocoa Cultivation Promotion Engagement Programme for the Plantation Sector for the Sarawak Region here today.
Officiated by the Ministry of Plantation and Commodities’s cocoa and pepper industry development division secretary Cheah Chee Fong, the event was attended by 94 participants, consisting of plantation companies, individual entrepreneurs, farmer groups, and representatives of relevant government agencies.
It aimed to provide information on the incentives offered to plantation companies to cultivate cocoa crops, as well as the potential of the industry.
-- BERNAMA
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