PADAWAN, July 15 — Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusuf today said that pepper growers will get RM46,000 financial assistance per hectare under the new pepper planting scheme, up from RM26,000.

He said the Ministry of Plantation and Commodities has also increased the amount of financial assistance from RM13,000 to RM25,000 per hectare under the mature pepper planting scheme.

"The review process is aimed at ensuring that the pepper growers are not impacted by the increase in agriculture inputs,” Fadillah, who is also the Minister of Plantation and Commodities, said at the opening of the Malaysian Pepper Board’s (MPB) field research station here.

He said the initiatives involved an allocation of RM50 million under the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP).

Fadillah said the ministry through MPB took the initiative to review the aid schemes that have been prepared for the pepper growers.

He said the fate of the smallholders should become a priority in any programmes.

He said it cannot be denied that the increase in the costs of agriculture inputs and the unstable prices of pepper has directly affected the productivity and income of the local pepper growers.

"The ministry is aware that the pepper growers are facing the high costs of agriculture inputs, such as fertiliser, weedicide, insecticide and dolomite since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukraine conflict in early 2022,” he said.

He said the ministry is confident that the nation's pepper industry is capable of becoming more competitive.

Fadillah said Malaysia exported RM181.4 million worth of pepper and pepper products in 2022 compared to RM153.5 million in 2021.

He said. Malaysia is the fifth largest producer of pepper in the world after Vietnam, Brazil, Indonesia and India.