PINNING FOR THE DAYS OF PINEAPPLE

PINEAPPLE (Ananas comosus) are lergely grown ini Malaysia for many years as an important for estate and smallholders. There are about 14,500 hectares of pineapple grown in Malaysia in 2016 producing a revenur for RM515 million. To talk about that the highways now zig-zag across the state, there were once pineapples. Johor was once a place thriving with pineapple plantations. What’s more, Malaysia was once the world’s top pineapple producer, but has since lost out to Thailand in recent years, says Lee San Yee. He should know. He is the factory manager of Lee Pineapple Company, an 85-year-old pineapple processing company and pioneer of Malaysia’s pineapple industry, which survived the difficult days of the Japanese occupation and is still standing tall today. “Many of the pineapple factories and canneries here have closed down due to increased competition from Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia which have surpassed Malaysia in pineapple production,” he said. Malaysia is now ranked as the seventh largest producer in the world. He said that during the company’s zenith, its factory could harvest about 400,000 pineapples per day in 2000. But the yield has decreased to about 100,000 fruits per day now.

The plantation’s overall size also went down from the initial 4,046.8ha to some 2,428.1ha, bringing down production by 50% in the past seven years. The company exports its pineapples to Japan, the United States, the Middle East and European countries. The company, which specialises in the growth, canning and exporting of the fruit, was founded in 1931 in Singapore, which was part of Malaya then, before it moved to Johor in 1938. During the war, Japanese troops bombed a bridge behind the factory at 8 ½ Mile Jalan Skudai in Skudai. Lee said the bombing damaged a large part of the factory. But the owners and some 600 employees had to soldier on to keep themselves and the business alive. Although Lee was not born then, he recalls the stories told by the retired workers. “The Japanese soldiers forced us to continue production to supply the fruits to their troops, who enjoyed eating the pineapples. We were not allowed to sell our products to others. “Our retired employees related their experience of being frightened at the sight of the armed soldiers who were constantly moving about in and around the factory. “Luckily the company managed to see the Japanese flee from the country before we achieved independence,” he said when met here.

The factory, which still has the original vintage façade and yellow signage from when it was established then, has since been repaired. It processes pineapples from its Simpang Renggam plantation and 80% of the products are exported. The company exports pineapple juice, syrup and canned fruits to Japan, the United States, the Middle East and European countries. Lee, who has been with the company for the past 46 years and is not related to the owners, added that as time passed, many pineapple factories in Johor could not withstand against the competitive economy. “There is a huge demand, but we just cannot meet it due to the lack of plantation workers to harvest the fruits. “The labour shortage is a big issue for us because Malaysians simply do not want to work in this labour-intensive sector,” he said, adding that this was one of the company’s toughest periods in its history. The company has about 500 plantation workers, with 90% of them foreigners. But it needs about 1,000 workers to fully achieve its full potential, Lee said. “Workers have to stand the heat and because pineapple trees are short, there is no shade from the hot sun and they have to constantly bend over to harvest the fruits manually,” he said of the harvesting work. Lee said the company hopes to sustain its production for many more years to come. It’s because it has become one of the country’s household brands remembered by many Malaysians.

Lee showing the tins of canned pineapples grown

and produced by the 85-year-old brand.

By,
M Anem,
Senior Agronomist,
Pekan Nanas, Pontian,
Johor, Malaysia.
(Adapted from The Star Online)