Popular lohan guava becoming the rave of visit Melaka year 2024
14 Jul 2023 07:59pm
Lohan guava entrepreneur Abdul Halim Abdullah, 47 in his farm - BERNAMA
Not only are they gigantic in size, lohan guavas are crunchy, sweet and have a high water content which gives added value to the fruit which is expected to be one of the preferred products for tourists in the Visit Melaka Year (VMY) 2024.
For lohan guava entrepreneur Abdul Halim Abdullah, 47, the fruit that is graded according to weight starting from 800 grammes to two kilogrammes, gives consumers the option to choose the size of the fruit they desire.
He said that in conjunction with VMY2024, he has started preparations since last June to ensure that his four-hectare orchard in Jalan Setulang Daeng, Bukit Rambai here is able to accommodate an average production of 800 kg to 1.8 tonnes per week.
"Especially for this VMY2024, I will focus more on the production of premium fruit which is grade A but in terms of price, we will try to keep it at the normal price of RM5 per kg,” he told Bernama.
He explained that this includes increasing the fruit quality through a more laborious and elaborate method and orchard management system in fertilising, wrapping and grading of the fruit.
"As the sole producer of this variety of guava in Melaka, it is very important that the quality is maintained. Not only for VMY2024 but more importantly for the local wholesale markets as well as in states such as Penang, Kelantan and Pahang.
"This was made possible with the cooperation of FAMA which started from day one where this fruit was to be marketed to the open market after obtaining seeds from Taiwan,” said Abdul Halim who has been working on the orchard since 2019.
He shared a bitter experience from the marketing aspect of lohan guava fruit which was little known to the community then, imparting to him a valuable lesson when he had to throw away almost two tonnes of the fruit which rotted since it could not be marketed.
Abdul Halim, who is a former telecommunications contractor, said the tree’s durability, which can last up to 25 years, also gives it an advantage in ensuring long-lasting fruit production.
On average, he can expect (from his orchard) a yield of about five tonnes for A grade product with a value of RM25,000, B grade around four tonnes with a value of RM14,000 while the ‘reject’ grade is about three tonnes (RM7,500) every month, with a total production of around 12 tonnes per month.
"We can control the fruit production cycle in order to ensure no break in the harvest and maintain the size of the fruits. This indirectly makes it easier for us to estimate how many tonnes will be produced in each cycle,” he said.
Abdul Halim, who is assisted by five workers, said in addition to marketing through FAMA, he also opened his orchard for fruit lovers to visit, thereby fuelling the concept of agro-tourism in the area.
So far, his orchard often welcomes visitors from within the state and abroad including from Pahang and Perak on walk-in basis to see for themselves how the fruit is cultivated commercially.
"For VMY2024, we expect more visitors to flock to the orchard and hope the visits will further popularise this fruit, (which is) comparable to the sweet harum manis mangoes in Perlis," he said - BERNAMA
