TELUPID, Oct 22 — The Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (Fama) is setting up a saba banana collection and export centre at the Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park (KKIP), and the contruction of the facility is expected to be completed mid next year.

Fama director-general Datuk Zainal Abidin Yang Razalli said the centre, to be built at the cost of RM750,000, will also include a cold storage room where the bananas can be processed and packaged for shipping.

"The saba bananas’ potential is huge. Before the onslaught of the Covid-19 pandemic, banana exports to Peninsular Malaysia stood at RM30 million a year.

"In Sabah alone, we (Fama) have 10 banana exporters who are supplying bananas to the peninsula," he said to reporters during the Semarak Tani Keluarga Malaysia programme, which was officiated by Agriculture and Food Industries Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee here today.

During the event, the minister also witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between FAMA and the saba banana exporting company.

According to Zainal Abidin, the centre will be merged with the fruits processing centre in KKIP to become be a one-stop centre for the collection and export of fruits from Sabah.

He said Fama is also working on getting the fruits processing centre accredited to export cloned musang king durian pastes to China, adding that for the initial phase, the durian paste will be exported to the Peninsular Malaysia.

Meanwhile, he said that a new centre for the collection and sale of agricultural produce will be built to replace the existing centre in Kampung Wonod near here.

According to him, the site for the new centre has been identified and construction is expected to be carried out early next year at the cost of about RM150,000. — Bernama