Dato' Seri Saarani Mohamad mingling with staff of the Perak Agriculture Department

GOPENG, 9 May 2024 - The Perak State Government through the Perak Agriculture Department has successfully harvested the small red onions BAW-1 produced by the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI) for commercial purposes via the Onion Cultivation Pilot Project in Kampung Kuala Bikam, Sungkai, which started on 24 January 2024.

Perak Menteri Besar Dato' Seri Saarani Mohamad said this after witnessing the symbolic handover of Bawang Perak from the Perak Agriculture Department to Perak Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (FAMA) at the Perak Agriculture Department Ramah Mesra and Semarak Aidilfitri event at the Rural Transformation Centre (RTC) here.

He said a total of 3.3 metric tons of onions will enter the market from mid-May 2024 and be sold from RM10 to RM12 per kilogramme.

"Since this small onion cultivation pilot project started in Perak, the state government intends to brand these small red onions as Bawang Perak (BP) to differentiate them from other imported onions in the market.

"The Bawang Perak has its own advantages compared to imported onions in the market. It is fresher, crispier, redder, and has a stronger aroma.

"The Perak State Government is very supportive of this effort and hopes that the pre-commercial scale undertaken by the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry (KPKM) will be a catalyst for domestic onion production to meet the needs of Malaysians and reduce dependency on onion imports by 2030.

Also present were State Secretary Dato' Ahmad Suaidi Abdul Rahim, State Financial Officer Dato' Mohd Zaki Mahyudin, State Women, Family, Social Welfare, Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development Committee Chairman Dato' Salbiah Mohamed, State Agriculture Director Norsiyenti Othman and Perak FAMA Director Noorsham Ramly.

Source : Corporate, SUK Perak.