REPORT: The Status of Coconut Plantation in Malaysia

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First and foremost, we would like to express our highest gratitude to all the people who had given their full support in undertaking this project especially our lecturer Madam Ahbul Zailani Begum Ibrahim for her guidance and advice. Her willingness to guide us is a valuable contribution to our project.

To God, we are grateful for the strength that kept us standing and for the hope that kept us going. Besides, we would also thank our family who inspired, and fully supported us for every trial and obstacles that came our way in giving us not just financial support, but also moral support.

Not to be forgotten our group mates who were willing to help us in gathering the necessary data and information needed for this project. We are indebted to En Razali, Assistant Research Officer of Mardi for his kindness and willingness to give us high cooperation in answering all questions related to our topic during the interview session.

All in all, without the help of the particular individuals that were mentioned above, we might not be able to reach the finish line. So, to all mentioned above, our highest gratitude shall be with all of you.

Letter of transmittal

2 April 2012

Madam Hajah Ahbul Zailani Begum Ibrahim,

Lecturer

BEL 422

Universiti Technology Mara,

Kampus Bandaraya Melaka,

73500 JAlan Hang Tuah,

MELAKA

Dear Madam

Report on the Status of Coconut Plantation in Malaysia

Enclosed here is the report that you requested providing information regarding the status of coconut plantation in Malaysia. This is because the coconut plantation in Malaysia is in declining trend compared to other coconut plantation such as in Philippine and Indonesia.

The report presents a detailed location on coconut plantation across Malaysia and their importance to Malaysian people. Several alternatives have been given for your perusal, each accompanied by a list of considerations that to be borne in mind when selecting this topics.

Should you have any queries regarding the report, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Yours sincerely

( Muhamad Yuszairi bin Ahmad)

Head of group

List of illustration

FIGURE	PAGES
Figure  1.1	6
Figure  2.1	8
Figure  3.1	11
Figure  4.1	13
Figure  4.2	14
Figure  4.3 & 4.4	15

TABLE OF CONTENTS

                                                                                                                              Page

Acknowledgements                                                                                                   i

Letter of Transmittal                                                                                                  ii

List of Illustrations                                                                                                     iii

1.0       EXECUTIVE SUMMARY                                                                             1                                                                                           

                                                                                  

1.0       INTRODUCTION

           1.1        Background                                                                                        2

           1.2        Subject                                                                                                3

           1.3        Problem Statement                                                                           3

           1.4        Objective of Research                                                                       3                                                                                                                                                                  

           1.5        Purpose of Research                                                                        4

           1.6        Research Question                                                                           4

           1.7        Scope                                                                                                 4

           1.8        Limitation                                                                                           4

           1.9        Terms of Reference                                                                          4

         

2.0       METHODOLOGY                                                                                          

            2.1       Interviews of people                                                              5                                                                    

            2.2       Picture                                                                                    5                                                                   

            2.3       Secondary data                                                                     5                                                                               

3.0       FINDINGS                                                                                                     

3.1       Findings

                        3.1.1    The area of coconut                                              6-7                                       

                        3.1.2    Import and export                                                  8-10                                       

3.1.3    Coconut production                                             11-12

                        3.1.4    Pathologies                                                         13-15

                        3.1.5    Profit                                                                    16-18

                        3.1.6    Coconut in future                                                 19-20  

                                  

4.0       CONCLUSION                                                                               21                                                                              

5.0       RECOMMENDATIONS                                                                22       

6.0       APPENDICES                                                                            23-26                                                            

7.0       REFERENCES                                                                             27                 

  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The coconut palm (Cocos nucifera L.) is aptly described as the ‘tree of life’ with multifarious uses. It is socially and culturally linked besides providing jobs and income to millions of people.

In many island economies, it is the major source of revenue and is an integral part of the livelihood of the population. In many countries, despite the numerous benefits derived, the coconut is under threat due to factors such as conversion of farmers to other oil crops (e.g. oil palm), urbanization and vagaries of the market particularly the volatility of its various products in global trade.

In Malaysia, coconut is the fourth important industrial crop after oil palm, rubber and paddy in terms of total planted area. It is also one of the oldest agro-based industries. As an industry, coconut contributes very little to the overall economy of Malaysia (contribution to export earnings of about 0.08% in 2006). Recent competition with oil palm for land has also resulted in the decline of the total area under coconut cultivation: in 2001, the area was about 151,000 ha and this has gradually decreased to the acreage of 109,185 ha in 2007 (Table 3). Based on the estimates given under the 9th Malaysia Plan, it is anticipated that the acreage will consolidate to around 80,000 ha by 2010.

The major variety grown is the Malayan Tall (92.2%) followed by the hybrid MATAG (4.3%), MAWA (1.7%), aromatic type (Pandan) (1.7%) and the Malayan Dwarfs (0.2%).In Malaysia, the perennial challenge faced by the coconut processing sector is the low supply of raw materials, inclusive of both for edible (e.g. oil, copra) and non edible (e.g. wood, shell and husks) materials. This is largely due to the low productivity level of about 3,500 nuts per hectare with the aging traditional Malayan Tall variety (against > 10,000 -20,000 nuts of commercial varieties such as MATAG).

Other factors contributing to the low productivity are the low natural soil fertility which needs fertilization, poor agricultural practices and farm management. The total coconut production for Malaysia in 2007 was estimated at 382 million nuts per year which is equivalent to the production of copra around 76,400 MT. However, the domestic coconut consumption was about 558 million nuts, a shortfall of about 32% of domestic requirement. The deficit was met via importation mainly from Indonesia and Thailand. Despite this importation, most of the major companies generally run at 50% of their production capacity.

However there are efforts in growing more coconut plantations in Malaysia, specifically Sarawak. All the other plans were hold to ensure future growth of coconut plantation in Malaysia, and rest assured that this crop is not yet ended in Malaysian soil and far from being removed of our agricultural industry.

1.0 INTRODUCTION

 1.1 BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Some people believe that coconut palm is the symbol of romance in the tropics. There are many varieties of coconut trees. The coconut grows in rainforests and other tropical of climates. It may take a year or so for the coconut tree to mature. “The coconut palm tree grows in hot areas. It likes frost free areas, and grows in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Pacific region. The tree grows near seas in these areas so the roots can find moisture. In the United States it is found only in Hawaii, the Southern tip of Florida, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.”( Jessica F. 2001)

             “The coconut industries in the Philippines are the largest producer of coconut tree. About one third of the country’s arable agriculture land or 3.26 million hectares is planted to coconut representing 64 out of total 79 provinces, and 1195 out of the 1554 municipalities in this country.  It is among the top ten export producer of the country as exhibited by the good export performance of both traditional and non-traditional coconut products.” (AGRIFISH online).

“While Indonesia is the second producer of coconut tree.” (Food and Agriculture Organization of United State).As a tropical country, Indonesia is a fertile land for coconut palms. The low lands of its coastal areas from Sumatra in the west and Papua in the east are lined with the swaying slim tall plants.  However, the potential has not attracted enough big investors to produce major export commodity from coconut palms like crude palm oil, coffee and cocoa.

“Currently Indonesia has 3.8 million hectares of coconut plantations expanding from 1.66 million hectares in 1969.”(Indonesia newsletter). The vast majority of 98% or 3.7 million hectares of the plantations are made up of smallholdings of individual farmers.  Plantations owned by state companies total around 4,669 hectares with private plantation companies owning the rest. 

            As compare to them, Malaysia has left behind in coconut industries. “We are now in tenth ranking as the coconut producer in the world.”(Food and Agriculture Organization of United State). Malaysia has about 110,000 hectares coconut plantations around Malaysia.”(Agriculture Department). The main menu of coconut plantations in Malaysia are Selangor (129, 878), followed by Johor (79,469), Sabah (69,318), Sarawak (868, 474), Perak (58,854),and Kelantan (40,275). While other areas less than 20,000 hectares. The smallest area of coconut plantation in Malaysia is Perlis which is only 1119 hectares.

            “In Malaysia, coconut is the fourth important industrial crop after oil palm, rubber and paddy in terms of total planted area”.(A.Sivapragasam). It is also one of the oldest agro-based industries. As an industry, coconut contributes very little to the overall economy of Malaysia.However, coconut still plays an important role in the socio-economic position of the Malaysian rural population that involves80,000 households. “About 63% of coconut production is for domesticconsumption and 37% is for export and industrial processing”(A.Sivapragasam). The domestic demand for coconut products takes in the form of fresh coconut, tendercoconut, coconut oil and processed cream powders. In terms of exports,the country has seen an increase in the export of end-products of coconut such as desiccated coconut, coconut milk powder and activated carbon.

            Despite its legendary history and uses, coconut worldwide is facing major challenges to its existence. In Malaysia, the perennial challenge faced by the coconut processing sector is the low supply of raw materials, inclusive of both for edible (e.g. oil,copra) and non edible (e.g. wood, shell and husks) materials. This is largely due to the low productivity level of about 3,500 nuts per hectare with the aging traditional Malayan Tall variety (against > 10,000 -20,000 nuts of commercial varieties such as MATAG). Other factors contributing to

the low productivity are the low natural soil fertility which needs fertilization, poor agricultural practices and farm management.

 It clearly shows that coconut plantation in Malaysia is almost died compared to other coconut producer all around the world such as Philippine, Indonesia, Cambodia and Vietnam. So the purpose of this report is to present the analysis of the problem and to recommend a solution that would help alleviate it. It is important to ensure that coconut plantation will not die in Malaysia since we all know that it is profitable enough to us.

1.2      SUBJECT

The status of coconut plantation in Malaysia.

1.3      PROBLEM STATEMENT

Recently the number of coconut plantation has decreases in Malaysia, while at the same time all part of coconut tree still has been used widely by Malaysian. For example, coconut husk and shells can be used for fuel, coconut trunks are used for building small bridges, and the roots are used as a dye, a mouthwash and a medicine. Therefore, the status of coconut plantation has to be considered and the importance of coconut plantation will be discussed.

1.4      OBJECTIVE OF RESEARCH

The objectives of the research are:

1)      To know the status of coconut plantations in Malaysia

2)      To identify the major places and the land area occupied by coconut plantation in Malaysia.

3)      To determine the status of export and import of coconut in Malaysia.

4)      To reveal the major problems facing coconut producers.

5)      To identify the strategy and implementation that can be done to ensure that coconut plantation will continue to grow in Malaysia.

1.5      PURPOSE OF RESEARCH

To know the status of coconut plantations in Malaysia since there is an anecdotal evidence that there is a significant decline in recent years. Despite the decreasing acreage, coconut still plays an important role in the socio-economic position of the Malaysian rural population that involves 80,000 households.

1.6      RESEARCH QUESTION

1)      What is the status of coconut plantation in Malaysia?

2)      Can coconut plantation play its role in contributing to Malaysian socio-economic?

3)      What are the challenges facing coconut producer?

4)      What are the measures that had been taken to ensure that coconut plantation continues to grow in Malaysia?

5)      What are the strategies formulated for coconut plantation in the future?

1.7      SCOPE

Market survey includes area of coconut palm plantation around Bertam Ulu, Malacca,      Marang, Terengganu, and Sungai Selangor, Selangor.

1.8      LIMITATION

There are several limitations faced in completing this report which is budget constraint, time constraint and expertise constraints. In order to complete the study, we needed to spend money on printing, rental car cost, Internet service and other related cost. Due to limited period of time, it was quite difficult for us to get most of the information. Most of the information was gathered from the MARDI officials. In explaining expertise constraints, we ourselves lack experience in conducting a proper research so it is safe to say error is inevitable in certain parts of the research.

1.9      TERM OF REFERENCES

On 8th March, Madam Begum Ibrahim, Lecturer of Report Writing, requested us to do a report on the decreasing number of coconut plantation in Malaysia. This is because she wanted to know deeper about the status of coconut plantation and is it really dying in Malaysia. This report has to be submitted on the last week before the final exam.

2.0      METHODOLOGY

2.1      Interviews with people

In this research we collected the data from an interview. We were conducting the interview with En. Razali (Assistant Research Officer of MARDI). He was also the source of primary data. From the interview we discovered and found out about the status of coconut plantation in Malaysia and useful information pertaining to the subject. We had chosen this method because we managed to get an interview with the person involved in the field of coconut plantation, thus making our information source more reliable and trustworthy to be presented in our report. Other methods of data collection were ruled out of our consideration as we felt that method such as parents questionnaire, feedback from teachers were of no need since we had been granted an interview.

2.2      Pictures

Even though we did not went to MARDI Perak where coconut plantation took place, we managed to obtain pictures of our subject, consisting of site of plantation, coconut breed and category, the disease affecting coconut growth and coconut trees based on their breed. From these pictures, we recognized the subject as if we were at a coconut plantation site. These pictures will be adhered in our report to assist in providing a clear picture of our subject.

2.3      Secondary Data

We also used secondary data to get the information about the coconut plantation in Malaysia. Most of our secondary data was obtained from the internet. A lot of information on coconut and of various angles could be accessed through the internet. However, we selected only the information that were proven to be valid, significant, and reliable and can be trusted. This is important to ensure that our research findings are reliable to whomever it may concern.

3.0      FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

3.1      Areas of coconut plantation according to states in Malaysia.

Figure 1.1 : Areas of coconut plantation and production of coconut according to states in     Malaysia in terms of hectares square and metric tonne.

The figure above shows the areas of coconut plantation in Malaysia according to states in terms of hectares square. In 2010, Sarawak has the widest area of coconut plantation with 21, 817 hectares square followed by Johor with 21099 hectares square. Apparently, from 2006 to 2010, Perlis has the smallest area of coconut plantation amongst all other states with 546 hectares squares accounted as the highest in 2010. Sarawak’s area of coconut plantation was in declining trend from 2008 till 2010. Another significant decreasing trend in the width of plantation area that is noticeable is in Selangor where in 2006, area of coconut plantation was 19,419 hectares square but dropped dramatically to only 10,624 hectares square in 2010. Sabah is another state that should not be taken lightly as it has among the widest area of coconut plantation among other states, which is 18,083 hectares square in 2010. It can be concluded that coconut plantation area in Peninsular Malaysia is wider than those in East Malaysia.

3.1.1  Recommendation

Area of plantation should be organized and planned wisely to prevent area wastage and damaging of soil in that area. The planting decision should be given thorough consideration to avoid forgoing the opportunity to plant other crop.

3.1.2  Conclusion

In conclusion, the width of coconut plantation area in hectares square is in decreasing trend from previous years to this year.

3.2      The flow of import and export of coconut plantation in Malaysia

Table 2.1:  Malaysian Imports and exports of coconut products for Year 2009 -2010.

	2009				2010
Description		Import(RM)	Export(RM)	Trade Balance(RM)		Import(RM)	Export(RM)	Trade  Balance (RM)
Fresh Coconut		11,178,602	7,343,007	(3,835,595		14,661,741	6,102,228	(8,559,513)
Dessicated Coconut		964,906	16,563,057	15,598,151		372,887	15,477,561	15,104,674
Coconut Milk Powder		3,543,313	25,818,054	22,274,741		2,573,150	24,421,439	21,848,289
Activated Carbon		12,750,095	59,091,678	46,341,583		13,163,550	53,165,459	40,001,909
Copra		9,889,540	623,687	(9,265,853)		19,825,245	2,345,627	(17,479,618)
Copra Meal		618,001	1,303,561	685,560		781,485	2,944,538	2,163,053
Coconut Oil		388,595,631	352,051,961	(36,543,670)		351,335,147	377,074,171	25,739,024
Fibre & Fibre Product (coir)		1,597,254	3,415,132	1,817,878		1,804,175	4,240,393	2,436,218
TOTAL		429,139,342	466,210,137	37,070,795		404,517,380	485,771,416	81,254,036

                                                                  

                                                                                                                                                                            

Coconut in Malaysia is the fourth important plantations in terms of acreage, after oil palm, rubber and paddy. As an industry, coconut contributes very little to the overall economy of Malaysia. However, the coconut industry in Malaysia has significant socio-economic implications as it provides a source of revenue and employment to some 80,000 households. In addition, about 63% of coconut production is for domestic consumption and 37% is for export and industrial processing. The domestic demand for coconut products takes in the form of fresh coconut, tender coconut, coconut oil and processed cream powders. In terms of exports, the country has seen an increase in the export of end-products of coconut such as desiccated coconut, coconut milk powder and activated carbon it supports a number of vibrant small and medium coconut-based processing industries and exporters with a positive trade balance of about RM 81.2 million. 

In 2010, exports of coconut and coconut-based products was valued at RM485 771 416 increase from the RM466.2 million in 2009. Imports in 2010 amounted to RM404,517,380 decrease from RM429.1million in 2009 (Table 4). There was thus a net increase of about RM81million in 2010 of exports over imports (about 2.1x more than in 2009). In 2010, negative trade balance was seen with imports of fresh coconut and copra. The highest net positive trade balance was seen for activated carbon was valued at RM40.0 million followed by Coconut Oil amount RM25.7 million and coconut milk powder amounted at RM21.8 million. The high import of Coconut Oil is mainly for the oleochemicals industry to produce methyl ester and diethanol amide for production of surfactants and other detergent product.

3.2.1  Conclusion

The marketable coconut products derived from major products such as coconut oil and desiccated coconut have already been commercially produced in various countries. They can be established in other areas if found to be viable. Some newly emerging products (chips, cream, and milk powder) have also been manufactured commercially in the last few years, and can be established elsewhere if found to be viable. Although we recorded a negative trade balance for fresh coconut, but we increase our revenue by coconut-based product to contribute to the overall economy of Malaysia

3.2.2  Recommendation

 In this context, perhaps it is timely to consider the establishment of a specific body for example Malaysia Coconut Board similar to the ones that already exists in other major coconut growing countries. The main objective of Malaysia Coconut Board is being the main arm for development and assistance in the development of production and productivity of land to plant coconut. This includes materials and inputs, financial assistance and extension service and all forms of regulations and directions

3.3      Malaysia’s standings among ten coconut producer countries

Coconuts are produced in 92 countries worldwide on about 11.8 million hectares (29.5ac) land. World production has been estimated at 61.7 million tons (FAO, 2011) with an average yield of 5.2 tons / ha.  The top ten producing countries are listed in table 1 below;

Table 3.1: Top ten coconut producing countries in the world

Country	Production  (tons) 2010	%  of World Production	Acreage under Production (ha)	Yield/ha (tons)
Indonesia	21,565,700	34.9	3,231,710	6.67
Philippines	15,667,600	25.4	3,401,500	4.61
India	10,148,000	16.4	1,903,000	5.33
Sri Lanka	2,099,000	3.4	394,840	5.32
Brazil	1,973,370	3.2	284,058	6.95
Thailand	1,380,980	2.2	237,882	5.80
Vietnam	1,128,500	1.8	121,500	9.29
Mexico	1,004,710	1.6	155,713	6.45
Papua New Guinea	930,000	1.5	216,000	4.30
Malaysia	459,640	0.7	166,400	2.76
WORLD	61,708,358		11,864,344	5.20

Source: FAO Statistics 2011

 The table shows Indonesia remains one of the two largest coconut producers in the world that can produce of 21.5 million tons per year and 34.9% of world production. Malaysia fell to 10^th place of coconut producing countries when only capable of producing 459 640 tons per year that contribute 0.7% of world production. This shows that we are still far behind the Indonesia, Philippines, India, Sri Lanka and Brazil. However, we are still ahead of Mexico and Vietnam in terms of acreage under production.

3.3.1  Conclusion

The table shows the top ten coconut producer. Production is often estimated using reported copra production, area planted or administrative estimates, since by the very nature of coconut production, it is virtually impossible to do an accurate count of the number of coconuts. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that the production data is accounted below actual production. Also, there is a gap between production and harvesting, which in turn influenced the price. If the price is low the farmer would be de-motivated to harvest.

 3.3.2  Recommendation

We need to increase production of coconut in Malaysia by adding more land for coconut plantations. NGOs such as Sime Darby and United Plantation also should play the role as a further body of coconut in Malaysia because demand for the coconut around the world each year will increase. In addition the NGOs can also add more jobs and help state residents to generate their income as well.

3.4      The coconut fruits may suffer from several pathologies

This happens especially where parasites and predators (beneficial insects) are working naturally to keep the insect under control (biological control). Killing parasites or predators allows insects to breed without control and therefore to become pests. Therefore, it is important to be able to tell the farmer the insect that will attack the coconut palm and how to overcome it. After we had done an extensive research on this topic, there are several types of pests that will be highlighted in the report.

3.4.1  Horn beetle (Kumbang tanduk), Or Coconut black beetle, or Oryctes rhinoceros (L)

Horn beetle (Kumbang tanduk) also called Coconut black beetle,or in scientific names Oryctes rhinoceros (L) is the major insect causing harmful effects to cocos nucifera. Adults are 35-50 mm long the male has a horn on the head that curves over backwards. They mostly fly at night to the crowns of palms. The larvae live in moist rotting vegetable matter particularly dead rotting palms. It is important to take preventive action and protect the coconut palm from this beetle attack when the coconut palm age is below than three years old. They bore into the crown of the palm and kill young palms.Often after the adult bores a hole diseases and other insects like the palm weevil can gain entry into the palm causing it to rot.This insect is confined to the islands particularly the Gazelle peninsula. The leaf will form a ’v-shape’ in result of the attack and the coconut palm will no longer be productive.

                                              

Figure 4.1 Beetle horn (Kumbang tanduk), Or Coconut black beetle, or Oryctes rhinoceros

3.4.2    Unicorn beetle or scientific name Dynastes gideon (L)

Named as Unicorn beetle or scientific name Dynastes gideon (L). Only the male beetle has long protuberences one on the head and one on the thorax that look like enormous jaws but are really harmless. The ‘C’ shaped larvae are up to 7 cm long. Damage adults feed on the underneath surface of the midrib of coconut fronds. Adults are also often found feeding on the young bark of flame trees (Poinciana). The females bore into the centre leaf of coconuts in a similar way to Oryctes beetles. Males are often foundon the newly opened flower.       

                       

         Figure 4.2 Unicorn beetle or scientific name Dynastes gideon (L)

3.4.3    Coconut hispid also called coconut leaf hispine or brontispa longissima  Gestro.

 Coconut hispid also called coconut leaf hispine or scientific name Brontispa longissima Gestro. The insect is a small, flat, orange and black beetle. The adult is 10 mm long and 4 mm wide. The head and antennae are black and a small part of the wing cover is yellow-brown. The remainder of the wing cover is black. Damage Larvae and adults severely damage young coconut palms. They feed amongst and on the unopened leaflets. The adults chew narrow lines parallel to the midrib causing the leaf to look striped. The insect is mainly only a problem in coconut nurseries and is not normally a problem in the field.

                                

 Figure 4.3 Coconut hispid also called coconut leaf hispine or brontispa longissima  Gestro

.

3.4.4    The Elephant beetle (kumbang gajah)  or Rhynchophorus palmarum (Linnaeus  1758)

The Elephant beetle (kumbang gajah)  or Rhynchophorus spp may attack the coconut  trees after the attack of the horn beetle. This beetle will attack the coconut trees in age between two and 15 years old (but the beetle more interested  in range between three and six years old).  The damages is because of the larva eat the new growth of the coconut, and after that the plant will die from the continuous attack. Leaves start to dry in ascending order in the crown; the apical leaf bends and eventually drops.However, these external symptoms are not sufficient for clear identification. Internally, the galleries and damage to leaf-stems produced by the larvae are easily detected in heavily infested plants. Thus, the pest can only be detected when damaged plants start to perish, or by using pheromone-baited traps (Jaffé  et al.,1993; Chinchilla & Öhlschlager, 1992, 1993; Sánchez & Jaffé,1993).

                  

       Figure 4.4 The Elephant beetle (kumbang gajah)  or Rhynchophorus palmarum (Linnaeus

3.4.5    Conclusion

In conclusion, we can see that before entering coconut plantation sector, the potential farmer needs to analyze and study about the risk that occurs in this type of plantation. Some are serious pests that must be controlled; other insects do little damage and do not need any action by the farmer to control them. If farmers spend time, energy and money trying to kill the wrong insects this is not only wasteful but the controls (especially chemical controls) could actually cause some of these harmless insects to become pests.

3.4.6    Recommendation:

Malaysian agricultural research and development institute (MARDI) should give training program on how to plant the coconut in effective ways to the potential farmer. The training may include on how to control and prevent the coconut trees from the attack by the beetle. MARDI also need to introduce which type of coconut that have high demand and high profit such as Matag coconut and Mawa coconut. Other than that, MARDI also must give a seminar to the potential or existing farmer about the chemical use in order to control the breed of the beetle. They must know about which fertilizer is suitable and what type of chemical poison needed to kill those insect such as NurelleÒ (cypermethrin+ chlorpyrifos)

3.5      Profit gained from coconut is slightly lower than palm oil

It is understood that coconut had a lot of usage in our daily life, coconut ranked fourth most important crop in terms of planted area, after oil palm, rubber and paddy, respectively. In 1981, the total area planted to coconut was more than 400, 000 hectares, but in 1995 it drastically declined to less than 250, 000 hectares only, which represents about 5% of the country’s total agricultural land area. 

From the interview that our group held with En. Razali, there are several reasons why coconut yield less profit in comparison to rubber and palm plantation. First factor is because of collecting the young palm is much easier then plucking the coconut, second the international prices of coconut dropped drastically, and the last one is related to more effort in planting palm oil by the government compared to coconut palm.

3.5.1    Collecting the young palm is much easier then plucking the coconut.

According to Mr.Razali bin Baki, to collect the young palm is much easier then plucking the coconut. A serious problem that is confronting the industry is the dwindling of labour needed for various activities related to both production and processing sectors in coconut. While some of the workers involved are skilled or semiskilled, others are unskilled. But the work in most cases is hard and unpleasant. Accordingly industry finds it difficult to recruit workers especially in the fibre sector. Most of the work performed manually (Mr. Razali bin Baki). Mechanization had not progressed much. The cost of labour too accordingly has gone up making some process un-remunerative.

3.5.2    The international prices of coconut dropped

The international prices of coconut dropped, which resulted a decrease in coconut production. The competition for land for oil palm planting and infrastructure development also significantly contributed to the reduction of coconut hectare in the country. The reasons of coconut prices dropped because of, among vegetable oils coconut oil was noted for the price volatility in the international vegetable oils market. We recall when the price of coconut oil went up to a monthly average of US$1431/MT in June 1984 CIF Rotterdam and then plunged to US$245/MT In June 1986(APCC, 1985-1997).With the increasing availability of substitutes of palm oils the situation has change. The highest monthly average price reached in recent years was in June 1996 at US$816/MT. But even this price could not be sustained. The surfactant manufacturers found the price uneconomical and were moving toward palm oil. The alternative left for coconut industry was to bring down the price of coconut oil in the international market that dropped to US$567/MT in august 1997. This price when it is filtered down to the producer is not much of an attraction.

3.5.3    The government effort only focuses on enhancing to growing up palm oil in the market rather than coconut

     It is understood that Malaysia’s Palm Oil production rose 8.73 per cent to 1.383 million tonnes in May this year from 1.272 million tonnes in April these year."Malaysia's palm oil production rose 8.73 per cent to 1.383 million tonnes in May this year from 1.272 million tonnes in April this year"(BERNAMA). On the other hand, palm kernel stocks declined 4.68 per cent to 114,456. Crude palm oil and palm oil stocks are also experiencing a decrease. It can be concluded that palm oil industry is increasing its production despite the decline in stocks in palm oil, crude palm oil and palm kernel.

3.5.4    Conclusion 

Based on the findings, it is reasonable to conclude that the palm oil sector contribute an important role in the economic development of Malaysia. Although the country is focusing more on oil palm sector rather than coconut, but the government have to make continuous improvement on how to breed the new generation of coconut.

3.5.5    Recommendation

As the recommendation, The Federal Agriculture Marketing Authority (FAMA) and Malaysia and Malaysian agricultural research and development institute (MARDI) must encourage other people to plant coconut. They must promote the benefits gained in coconut plantation. Even though, Malaysia focuses more on palm oil plantation, but the government must ensure that the coconut plantation keep moving forward to become one of the main agriculture contributor to  Malaysia’s economic growth. The promotion to bring back coconut up must be as heavy and intense as to promote palm oil plantation.

3.6      Coconut plantation in Malaysia in five years time and the major plan for its growth

In five years time, the coconut plantation in Malaysia will continue to grow even though they are facing a significant decline in recent years. As an industry, coconut contributes very little to the overall economy of Malaysia compared to other industrial crop such as oil palm, rubber and paddy. However, coconut still has the highest demand among consumers since the various parts of the coconut has many culinary uses such as  coconut leaves are used for making brooms,  the husk and shells can be used for fuel, trunks are used for building small bridges, the roots are used as a dye, a mouthwash, and a medicine for diarrhoea, Coir (the fibre from the husk of the coconut) is used in ropes, mats and door mats, and so on. So, it is clear that coconut is still very much needed by Malaysian and definitely will continues to be developed in five years time and possibly be the number one industrial crop in Malaysia.

Realizing the importance of coconut plantation, the Malaysian Government through the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro Based Industries has underlined a number of strategies and the concomitant implementation plans to ensure that the coconut plantation will not face extinction. These include:

        i.            National Coconut Development Plan (2001-2010) which is based on two approaches:

a)      Replanting of unproductive and old coconut palms with a high-yielding MATAG and Pandan (aromatic) varieties.

b)      The rehabilitation of existing coconut area through good agricultural practices such as fertilizer application, drainage management and pest control.

Replanting and rehabilitation scheme will also provide extension services to assist farmers to fully utilize the land resources. Essentially, the plan, which covers over a 10 years period (2001-2010), will be emphasized on increasing the productivity of smallholders and improving the quality of their production.

Currently, replanting and rehabilitation of coconut area is well underway. Focus is given to the five main coconut’s producer: Hilir Perak, Sabak Berrnam, Batu Pahat, Samarahan and Kudat.

      ii.            Coconut Industry Revitalizing Plan (2008-2015) whose scope entails the following:

a)      Replanting of 8000 hectares of old and unproductive coconut palm areas with MATAG hybrid and 2000 hectares with Pandan

b)      Rehabilition of 55,000 hectares of existing planted areas

c)      Production of MATAG and Pandan seedlings

d)      Increasing the activity of intercropping in coconut farms.

    iii.            Research and Development

To support some of the above activities, MARDI has undertaken Research and Development activities in the area of

a)      Breeding, mixing farming and product development (e.g. VCO and coir)

3.6.1    Recommendation

In order to ensure that coconut plantation continues to grow in Malaysia, various parties should play their respective roles. Non-Government organization such as Centre for Environment, Technology and Development, Malaysia (CETDEM), Education and Research Association for consumer Malaysia (ERA), and united Nation Development Program Malaysia (UNDP) can provide funds for farmers who are interested in planting coconut. Sometimes, people are interested in planting coconut but they have not enough budgets to implement their interest. So, by providing some budgets, they can continue with their plans. Other than that, MARDI itself can provide regional training on plantation to train people on the proper technique to plant coconut.

          

3.6.2    Conclusion

All in all, based on the above strategies we are confident that coconut plantation is not heading to extinction within the next five years.

4.0      OVERALL CONCLUSION

Based on the findings that have been discussed earlier, it can be concluded that coconut in Malaysia are still actively planted even though the number of areas under coconut shows a significant decline. Currently the government encourage coconut plantation in Sabah and Sarawak to ensure that the coconut plantation will continues to grow.  

In term of the status of import and export of coconut in Malaysia, the number of coconut import is higher than the number of coconut export. Actually there are many reasons why this scenario occurs. First, it is influenced by the price of the coconut itself. When the producers import the coconut from the other countries such as Indonesia and Philippine, they can get it at lower price compared to the price in Malaysia. Other than that, producers also import the coconut because Malaysia itself has insufficient coconut supply. So, the producers had to import the coconut from outside to compensate the shortage of the coconut supply. However in term of coconut based- product such as coconut milk powder and fibre the volume of export is greater than the volume of import.

In order to plant coconut, it can’t be denied that the farmers might face many challenges. The major challenge facing the farmers is pests attack. So that, the farmers must know the right ways to control it because if they handle it with the wrong techniques it will not reduces the number of pests attack but will increase the number of pests.

To ensure the coconut plantation continues to grow in Malaysia many actions has been done by government such as through National Development Plan (2001-2010), Coconut Industry Revitalizing Plan, and Research and Development activities on coconut. However, we as Malaysian cannot entirely depend on government alone but jointly help in developing coconut plantation in Malaysia.

In five years time, based on the strategies and actions taken by government currently, we are completely confident that in five years time, the coconut plantation will continue to grow in Malaysia and will become one of the major industrial crop that contributes a large portion in the overall economy of Malaysia.

Based on the research that has been done, it can be said that the coconut plantation in Malaysia are still actively cultivated even though it is currently in fourth place in industrial crop after oil palm, rubber, and paddy. It is possible that one day coconut can be the main contributor to the Malaysian economy.

5.0     OVERALL RECOMMENDATION

The government must provide growers by giving subsidy to start planting the coconut. Any financial assistance to growers undertaking coconut plantation is very much needed. This is due to the costs of coconut production (for 1516 fertilizer, labour, and working capital) soared high by nearly 90 percent.

 Researchers need to develop other technological packages that would be privately and socially profitable.  Additional market and product research might also be done to increase value added from coconut products such as coconut oil, coconut charcoal, and fibre products.

Area of plantation should be organized and planned wisely to prevent area wastage and damaging of soil in that area. The planting decision should be given thorough consideration to avoid forgoing the opportunity to plant other crop.

 APPENDICES

Appendix A

Question for interviews

Name  : 

Position:

Date    :  16/4/2012

Questions:

1.      What is the current status of coconut plantation in Malaysia?

2.      Which is greater in volume, import or export of coconut in Malaysia?

3.      Why coconut is not the major plantation in Malaysia?

4.      Is the coconut production for local or foreign market?

5.      What are the species of coconut planted in Malaysia?

6.      In 2009, Malaysia ranked 10^th as coconut exporter in the world. Now where does Malaysia stand among other countries in the world for coconut exporter?

7.      Which state has the largest coconut plantation in Malaysia?

8.      How would you describe the demand for coconut in Malaysia?

9.      How much coconut do we import?

10.  What can the publics do to support the coconut industries in Malaysia?

11.  What has been done by government to ensure that coconut plantation will not die in Malaysia?

12.  If there is not enough supply for domestic coconut, from which country will we import the coconut?

13.  Is there any scientific method to accelerate the growth or maturity of coconut plant?

14.  Does Malaysia adopt high technology in order to plant the coconut?

15.  What is the risk or problem that may be arise for coconut producer?

16.  Are there any possibilities that we are able to produce new coconut gene in the future?

17.   What is the difference between coconut that plant in Malaysia with other countries such as Indonesia and Philippine in term of size, taste and shape?

18.  Recently, is there any action taken replant coconut tree since the number of coconut plantation in Malaysia keeps decreasing?

19.  What is the commodity price of coconut in Malaysian market?

20.  How does the coconut crop contribute to our income and to our economy?

21.  What will happen to coconut plantation in Malaysia in 5 years time? Is there any major plan for its growth?

1

Appendix B

                                                The pictures in MARDI, Serdang.

                         Muhamad Yuszairi b. Ahmad  & Muhammad Hakim b. Suhaili

                                  

                                                        Siti Nurbaya bt Mohamadiah                          

                                                       Noorasmareena bt Che Ab Latif

7.0      REFERENCES

1.      Oliver, J. (1985). Coconut Genetic Resources. Florida: Harcourt Brace Jovannovich,Inc.

             

2.      Oropeza, C. (1988). Current Advances in Coconut Biotechnology. United States: Thomson funch, Inc.

3.      Howard, F. (1987). Insects on Palms. Canada: Mathew South-Western.

4.      Robert, W. (1990). The Problems of Applied Entomology. Singapura: Mc Graw-Hill.

5.       Coconut Plantation. Retrieved April 3,2012, from http://www.fao.org/docrep/007/htm

6 Coconut Tree. Retrieved April 10, 2012, from http://www.indexmundi.com/commodities=coconut=myr.

7. Top 10 Producer of Coconut Countries. Retrieved April 10 2012 from http://www.fao.org/corp/statistics/en/