SEPANG: Airasia farm today has made it possible for the much sought-after Harumanis mangoes of Perlis to be available to the mass market in Sabah for the first time.
Airasia farm said the first shipment of Perlis' Harumanis mangoes via AirAsia flight AK5104 from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (klia2) was made possible through the cooperation between the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries (MAFI) and airasia farm, a subsidiary of AirAsia.
The flag off event is part of the "Harumanis Kembali Lagi"! campaign led by the MAFI, in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture (DOA), as well as the Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (FAMA) of Perlis to further promote the Harumanis mangoes.
The mangoes will be sent to Tune Hotels Kota Kinabalu as a pickup point for its delivery partners in Sabah.
Airasia farm also seeks to distribute the famed mangoes to key retailers in Kota Kinabalu.
Agriculture and Food Industries Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee said the collaboration would not only expand the distribution of Harumanis across Malaysia, but also bring the exclusive mangoes to Sabah officially for the first time.
This is in line with the ministry's emphasis on high-valued agriculture that can create economic opportunities for the people.
Kiandee said the Harumanis industry would not only increase the income of over 2,415 farmers across Perlis, but also have a significant impact on the economy as well as agro-tourism and supply chain industries across the country.
"This year MAFI is expecting the harvest to reach 3,336 tonnes, which is valued at RM66.7 million in Perlis.
"We anticipate about 50 per cent will be sold online through the e-commerce platforms such as airasia food, airasia fresh and agrobazaar online," he said.
Airasia farm general manager Lalitha Sivanaser said the first shipment of Harumanis mangoes as an export commodity wascmade possible by leveraging on AirAsia group's vast ecosystem and technology such as Teleport and its e-commerce platforms with airasia food and airasia fresh.
Sivanaser said the synergy with the ministry enabled the Harumanis mangoes to be delivered in Sabah in less than 72 hours upon harvest to ensure that the fruit is truly fresh from the farm.
"We believe technology and digitalisation will not only add value to the agriculture sector but also improve the country's entire food industry supply chain from production, distribution to consumption.
"Our long term goal is to bring better value to benefit thousands of Harumanis farmers across Perlis so they can generate a larger income for their harvest online and hopefully across the region in the future," she said.