Chinese firm plans 10,000-hectare rubber plantation in Sarawak

Friday, 29 October 2010 14:41 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Kuching (Bernama): China’s Guangdong Guangken Rubber has expressed interest to plant 10,000 hectares of rubber in Sarawak, Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Alfred Jabu Numpang said Thursday.

He said the state was ready, in principle, to cooperate with the company in the venture through a Native Customary Rights (NCR) land development scheme.

“China has asked for consideration from Sarawak for a rubber cultivation project site of 10,000 hectares, and we will discuss it with the NCR landowners before any agreement of understanding is made,” he told reporters after receiving a courtesy call from China’s Agriculture Minister Gao Hongbin at his office here.

He said the company had a rubber processing facility in Debak, Betong division, in collaboration with the Sarawak Farmers Association. The facility began operations in November last year.

The better quality of rubber from Betong had drawn Chinese interest to participate in a bigger scale in Sarawak, he said.

Jabu, who is State Agriculture Modernisation Minister, said China was also willing to train local people on how to tap rubber in a way that production would increase without adversely affecting latex quality and the trees.

“So far, about 30 Chinese citizens with rubber tapping experience have trained local residents, particularly in Undap Batu Lintang and Betong,” he said.

He said China had also agreed to develop a 100-hectare tropical plant nursery in Sungai Sebiu Bintulu through a joint venture with the state government.

It would help local farmers obtain higher quality seedlings including vegetables without importing them from overseas, he said.