By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Jan 15: The Ministry of Food Industry, Commodity and Regional Development (M-Ficord) is proposing the establishment of a dedicated unit to manage seasonal fruits, a move aimed at ensuring more systematic management and year-round marketing of Sarawak’s seasonal produce.
Its minister, Dato Sri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom, said the proposed unit is crucial to prevent wastage of agricultural produce and to ensure fruits such as durian, rambutan, and dabai can be processed and marketed more effectively throughout the year.
“We must move towards downstream industries. Durian can be processed into paste, ice cream, and other products. Dabai can be cut, processed, and sold,” he said, according to a TVS news report.
“It is my responsibility to ensure that markets and products are available,” he added when speaking at the Majlis Makan Malam Industri Asas Tani Gemilang 2026 here on Wednesday (Jan 14).
Dr Rundi noted that while seasonal fruit production is abundant, its management remains unsystematic, underscoring the need for a special unit to monitor and ensure that every harvest is optimised.
“Several areas such as Bintulu and Sibu show high potential yields, but there are also fruits left abandoned by the roadside,” he said.
“This creates a sense of guilt and sympathy because we encourage farmers to keep producing, yet we do not manage seasonal yields properly,” he added.
He also highlighted the importance of technology and innovation in managing seasonal produce.
“Technology is important. New approaches in agriculture such as mechanisation and selective breeding must be adopted so that our agro-industry can move to a higher level,” he said. — DayakDaily
