KOTA KINABALU, March 5 — Sabah is the country’s main producer of cocoa beans, accounting for 57 per cent of the 3,444 hectares under cocoa cultivation in Malaysia, said Deputy Plantation and Commodities Minister Datuk Siti Aminah Aching.

She said the state also contributed to the production of cocoa beans for premium chocolate including bean-to-bar chocolate, single origin chocolate and artisanal chocolate, which are produced by cocoa farmers in Kota Marudu and Keningau.

"The potential for cocoa cultivation in this state can be further promoted and developed. Therefore, encouragement needs to be given to growers through research assistance and advisory services to enable the farmers to continue to improve the quality of their cocoa bean,” she said in a statement here today.

Siti Aminah, who is also the Member of Parliament for Beaufort, hopes that the industry will be developed as an agricultural industry capable of increasing the daily income level, especially for cocoa farmers in Sabah.

According to her, this year, the Malaysian Cocoa Board will implement the New Planting Project (TB23) with a target of 200 hectares throughout the country and of that figure, 100 hectares will be in Sabah, 80 hectares in Sarawak and the remaining 20 hectares in the peninsula.

"In line with the Malaysian Cocoa Board Strategic Plan, I hope that development programmes to increase cocoa production and cocoa sustainability will continue to be mobilised to increase the income of farmers and entrepreneurs,” she said.

She added that the downstream industry in Sabah currently consists of four chocolate and cocoa confection companies and 34 local chocolate entrepreneurs where the turnover of chocolate entrepreneurs in Sabah amounted to RM792,351 in 2022. — Bernama