KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia Group Bhd's business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce platform, airasia farm, is now an official distributor of Harumanis mangoes.
Harumanis is a type of seasonal mango from Perlis which can only be harvested once a year between April and June.
This year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries expects the harvest to be worth RM66.7 million.
In a statement today, AirAsia said as an official distributor and a platform to connect farmers directly to businesses, airasia farm provides end-to-end support to the farmers.
This ranges from sourcing right until delivery including ensuring the product is export-ready, logistics, to marketing the product to a larger audience throughout Malaysia.
airasia farm's long term goal is to bring better value to benefit over 2,400 Harumanis farmers across Perlis so they can generate a larger income for their harvest online.
This is in line with the ministry's objective to encourage the farming community to utilise e-commerce platforms to market their fresh produce online.
airasia farm general manager Lalitha Sivanaser said since June last year, the company had been extending efforts and resources in the development of cross-border e-commerce especially in Sabah.
This is addition to establishing strong distribution networks and collaborative relationships with the local fresh producers and businesses across Malaysia.
"Leveraging on the airasia's ecosystem as a whole, we believe we are well-positioned to develop a sustainable supply chain and aim to distribute 10 tonnes of Harumanis mangoes this year to support the government's 'Harumanis Kembali Lagi' campaign," she said.
In addition to the cross-border e-commerce initiative, airasia farm seeks to distribute the much sought-after mangoes to key retailers in Kota Kinabalu as part of its strategy to further strengthen its distribution channels and increase product penetration in Sabah.
The signature Perlis mangoes will be exclusively available for online order via airasia's e-commerce platforms: airasia food and airasia fresh.
AirAsia said airasia food will address the on-demand market in Klang Valley and soon Penang where customers can expect their delivery within an hour of purchase.
Meanwhile in Sabah, airasia farm is partnering with Foodpanda for orders and delivery in the state.