The surface devoted to pineapple production of the Malaysian company Rompin Integrated Pineapple Industries Sdn Bhd currently stands at 1,500 acres, although it is moving towards expanding with another 3,500 acres, as market demand at the moment is huge, and still higher than supply. “Another reason is that the fruit we produce has a better aroma and higher brix than those grown further away from the equator line,” affirms General Manager Patrick Teoh.He assures that, in addition to offering great quality, they also aim to meet the growing consumer demand for health conscious products. “We offer crownless pineapples and also dehydrated pineapple. Demand in Malaysia is good especially in the high premium market, as they are willing to pay more to get a better and premium produce. Crownless pineapples also go to countries like Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, where the fresh cut market is expanding.”
In global terms, the export markets that Rompin is targeting are Japan, South Korea, China (in the process of getting the import approval), and the Middle East. “In the Middle East we are focusing on Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Turkey, etc. The market is important because we have direct shipments to those countries and our Halal certification is recognised by the Islamic World,” explains Mr Teoh. “About 20% of our fruit goes to Islamic countries, which mainly demand whole fruit.”
Another option available is for the fruit to be shipped by air, although shipments by air, which are best for keeping the freshness, entail high logistics costs. In any case, “because of our geographical location, our production is not seasonal. Rompin’s pineapple production is carried out all year round.”
All in all, prospects are good in the pineapple market. "It is an expanding market, even though it requires a lot of labour, investment and land in order to become profitable, and this is mostly thanks to the fact that there is not much competition with other fruits, as consumers who like bananas will always buy bananas and consumers who like pineapples will always buy pineapples,” concludes Mr Teoh.
For more information:
Patrick Teoh
Rompin Integrated Pineapple Industries Sdn. Bhd.
Tel : +603-8940 7171
Fax : +603-8941 7171
E-Mail : catherine@md2.com.my
Website : www.md2.com.my