Mardi: High demand for coconut husk
Published on: Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Terengganu: The coconut tree is said to have a thousand and one uses as every part of it has its uses and can be made into a product.Before, the coconut husk is thrown away and burnt, but now it has become a new innovation in the furniture making industry, as well as production of mattresses and car seats.Director of Research and Engineering Centre, Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Mardi), Dr Mohd Salleh Punan said the processed husk produced coco peat and coir for industrial use, like in the making of furniture, carpet, mattress and car seat, as well as fertigation in modern farming to replace crop on land.
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"Previously, to produce coco peat and coir, the coconut husk is soaked in a pond for a month. After that the cured husk is lifted and tossed and then hit to break and soften it, before it is separated to produce coco peat and coir."Since five years ago, Mardi has produced a machine to separate the coconut husk and is sold for RM25,000 per unit," he said in an interview with Bernama.Mohd Salleh said so far, the machine was only being used by entrepreneurs in four states, namely, Perak, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu, despite the high demand for coco peat and coir in the country's manufacturing sector.One of the entrepreneurs, Mamat Osman, 61, from Kampung Bukit Kolam here, said his income had increased since three years ago when he branched out into producing coco peat and coir, instead of just coconut milk.
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"When I first ventured into the coconut milk business six years ago, I had problems disposing off the coconut shell and husk. One day, I read about the machine in the newspapers and contacted Mardi."I went to the Mardi office in Serdang to look at the machine. As a trial run, I was loaned the machine for nine months and after demand started to pick up, I bought two of the machines," he added.
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Mamat, who is a government retiree, said his income had increased by about three folds, from just between RM50 and RM60 daily selling coconut milk, as the demand for coco peat was high."Coco peat can be used in fertigation farming and the demand for it is so high. I sell it for only RM4.50 a sack."As for coir, which is used in the making of furniture, carpet, mattress and car seat, I sell it for RM900 per trailer. Coir is long-lasting, hard-wearing and can withstand heat," he added.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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