Malaysia’s kenaf industry is being positioned as a future green commodity, with government support for modernisation and a target of 2,500 hectares under cultivation by 2026.
PADANG BESAR: Malaysia’s kenaf industry is entering a key transition phase as the government works to position it as a future green commodity.
Plantation and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Dr Noraini Ahmad said kenaf should no longer be viewed as a secondary crop but as a strategic contributor to the sustainability of the national commodities sector.
“For 2025, the National Kenaf and Tobacco Board (LKTN) has processed an estimated 70 tonnes of kenaf seeds,” she said in a statement issued during her working visit to Perlis.
She highlighted that kenaf cultivation has produced a range of entrepreneurs, including mushroom growers using agricultural waste and producers of cat food diet products under the Ecovet brand.
Other innovations include the development of kenaf leaf tea marketed as Biokenaf for health and weight management, a product formulated by a Universiti Malaysia Kelantan researcher.
Noraini said Perlis’s expertise in kenaf cultivation is drawing international interest, including potential collaboration with Kenya, which has a similar semi-arid climate.
She noted that kenaf planting has expanded rapidly in Padang Besar and Chuping, replacing areas previously dominated by sugarcane and tobacco.
A key initiative is the Kenaf Integrated Park in Chuping, a pilot project focusing on processing kenaf pulp for biodegradable products.
The government is targeting 2,500 hectares of kenaf cultivation by 2025/2026 to strengthen the agro-commodity sector and raise farmers’ incomes.
Noraini expressed confidence that through LKTN’s initiatives, kenaf will be widely used in animal feed pellet production, reducing reliance on imported raw materials.
Ongoing research has also integrated kenaf fibre into the automotive, construction and textile industries, as well as mutation breeding research using nuclear technology.
New kenaf varieties, MK1 and MK2, have been developed to enhance the crop’s global competitiveness.
At a breaking-of-fast event, Noraini presented seed revenue payments for the 2025/2026 season to Perlis growers, with three farmers recording strong yields.
Wahab Hamid received RM79,200 for 1,980kg, Muhammad Izhan Abu Bakar received RM74,400 for 1,860kg, and Mohd Shahril Mansor received RM33,360 for 834kg.
Earlier, she visited a Seed Processing Centre in Perlis capable of conducting comprehensive seed quality tests.
She also inspected kenaf fields at Batu 17, Jalan Kaki Bukit to observe crop progress and met several kenaf growers, many of them women, who have shown strong commitment with support from LKTN.
The Sun Malaysia
