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Big Money From Sugar Cane Farming
By Shahrullizan Rusli
SEREMBAN, April 10 (Bernama) -- Fancy this. A farmer can earn between RM5,000 and RM8,000 a month by cultivating sugar cane on 0.4 hectare of land.
The earnings would certainly double in Ramadan as the price of sugar cane increases from RM1.20 to RM2.50 per stem during the fasting month. When this happens, a sugar cane farmer's income can ballooned to RM20,000 a month.
According to a Federal Agriculture Marketing Authority (Fama) officer, ideally a farmer should operate 1.6 hectare of land where he can plant some 8,000 sticks of sugar cane.
The sugar cane harvest comes after eights months of its cultivation.
Apart from giving assistance for the sugar cane farmers in the domestic market, Fama also helps them to market this agriculture produce abroad as sugar cane juice is in high demand in West Asia and Singapore.
SUGAR CANE JUICE FOR EXPORT
Fama Director (cereals and herbs) Abdul Rahman Abdul Rahim told Bernama that Johor is the state active in cultivating sugar cane and marketing its produce.
"In Batu Pahat alone, we have 22.6 hectares and Muar, 173 hectares of sugar cane... the farmers there, some are innovative enough and have produced sugar juice that is bottled and exported to Singapore", he said.
Abdul Rahman said the sugar cane export to Singapore is between 200 and 400 bundles of stems daily and in 2006 RM5.4 million worth of sugar cane was moved to Singapore.
The figure rose to RM5.8 million in 2007.
Fama has established a sugar cane collection centre at Semerah, Batu Pahat at the cost of RM4.5 million as Singapore imposes stringent conditions in terms of quality and hygiene on imported agriculture produce.
This establishment serves as a principal export centre with the emphasis on quality. It also functions as a one-stop and be a catalyst to develop and expand the strategy for the marketing of sugar cane in Malaysia.
The double-storey centre is also equipped with two cold rooms and laboratory facilities to test and maintain the quality of sugar cane for the local market as well as overseas.
The country's first sugar cane screening centre was Fama's effort to make Malaysian sugar cane an international product, said Abdul Rahman.
CUT INTO STUBS
During a visit to the centre, Bernama found sugar cane exporter Purecane Manufacturing Sdn Bhd in the midst of moving the sugar cane stems, which were already cut into stubs, to Singapore.
Under an agreement signed with Fama, Purecane will market the sugar cane produced by 79 pioneer farmers on contract farms in Johor, Melaka and Negeri Sembilan.
The sugar cane stubs, packed into boxes, are exported to the island republic daily.
Abdul Rahman said some 400 boxes that contain about 5,000 sugar cane stubs were exported to Singapore daily. This is worth RM330,000 a month.
PRIORITY ON HYGIENE
Purecane Manufacturing Sdn Bhd's Loo Woe San said the company is utilising the one-stop centre since it began operations despite having its own processing mill.
"We are confident (with the centre) as Fama wants our product to be of high quality and obtains international recognition", said Loo.
Purecane also produces bottled sugar cane juice and sells it at RM1.10.
Loo said the sugar cane juice is not sold elsewhere as it can only last for one week.
According to the managing director, Purecane has to source for supplies from sugar cane farms in other states.
"The international demand is high as the sugar cane from Malaysia is of high quality and its juice tastes good", Loo said.
-- BERNAMA |
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