Malaysia To Ensure Pepper Products Undergo Stringent Cleaning Processes

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 6 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian government, through the Malaysian Pepper Board (MPB), will continue to ensure that pepper products that are produced, packed and exported have to undergo stringent cleaning processes. In a statement here Thursday, Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities, Mah Siew Keong, said the products would also be graded according to an international quality standard and certified for low pesticide residue levels. “We suggested that International Pepper Community (IPC) to play greater role in protecting the interests of other pepper producing countries which include Malaysia, Indonesia, India and Sri Lanka to ensure the industry to remain sustainable in the future,” he said. Mah said this during his official visit Vietnam to explore opportunities to increase strategic collaborations in technology development, particularly in the palm oil, rubber and pepper sectors. He said pepper farmers in Malaysia had a lot to learn from the farmers in Vietnam, especially in terms of farm management and mechanisation. “Pepper farmers in Vietnam are hard-working and each pepper farmer owned approximately one hectare and these farmers are supported by agricultural based financing mechanism provided by the local banks,” he said. Mah said the Vietnam Pepper Association (VPA) has also praised Malaysia for producing world-class quality pepper. “The VPA members, who have clients/buyers from Europe and US, still place orders for Sarawak pepper on continuous basis,” he said. -- BERNAMA