Farmers slam claim price of Harumanis mango has dropped

KANGAR: The claim that the price of the iconic Perlis Harumanis mango has dropped drastically to RM10 per kilogramme due to declining demand this year is baseless.
In fact, generally, commercial Harumanis cultivators and traders were surprised at the allegation and slammed a newspaper report on the matter which went viral on social media since yesterday.
The paper reported that the cost of and demand for the mango had fallen sharply forcing them to be sold cheaply and resulting in much unsold fruits.
Commercial Harumanis grower Zulkifli Zakaria, 55, said the demand for mango was a little slow in the last two weeks but the price is still stable.
"Untrue to say Harumanis is sold for as low as RM10 (a kilogrammes) because demand has dropped. The cultivation, packaging and labour costs are already much more than that.
"I am surprised by the allegation that there is no demand for Harumanis. I personally still sell and market the mango inside and outside Perlis as usual because the demand has never stopped," he told Bernama today.
According to Zulkifli, Harumanis from his orchard in Abi Selatan here, also do not experience serious problems such as infection or over-ripeness and rotting fruits on the tree.
"Harumanis is not like normal mangoes. The process of planting and taking care of it must be carefully carried out to get quality results," said Zulkifli who sells Harumanis at RM25 per kilogramme and RM21 to traders who source the fruit directly from him.
Harumanis farmer in Beseri here, Ruhaida Ramli, 56, also denied that the price of Harumanis has dropped because the demand is still high from inside the state and outside.
"Demand is so high that we have our work cut out for us. Some come all the way from Negri Sembilan to get the original, best quality Harumanis fresh from the orchard," said Ruhaida who operates a one-hectare Harumanis orchard with her husband and children. — Bernama