LPNM Enhances Value Of Pineapple By-Products Through Weaving Innovation

By Nur Fadhliana Shaari

PONTIAN, Oct 16 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Pineapple Industry Board (LPNM) is enhancing value creation in the pineapple industry by developing woven products from pineapple leaves -- an innovation that opens new economic opportunities for rural communities while reducing agricultural waste.

LPNM Product Development and Biotechnology Division director Elmie Adha Ismail said the initiative is part of the board’s ‘three-harvest concept’, which maximises output from pineapple cultivation through the harvest of fruit, planting materials and by-products.

“The pineapple plant offers more than just fruit. It also provides returns from pups and waste, which we have developed into non-food products such as yarn, paper and, most recently, woven pineapple leaf crafts,” he told Bernama at Kampung Rimba Terjun here recently.

He said the pineapple leaf weaving project began in early 2024 after LPNM successfully adapted foreign processing technology.

A series of training and technology transfer programmes has been conducted to help local entrepreneurs venture into pineapple leaf-based production, drawing strong participation from women entrepreneurs and craft producers in Sarawak.

Elmie Adha said LPNM has collaborated with producers in Johor and is forming weaving community groups in Sarawak to utilise pineapple leaves as an alternative material to rattan and bamboo, which are increasingly scarce.

“Their products are gaining ground in the local market and emerging as a new identity for Malaysia’s handicraft and fashion segments,” he said.

To expand the initiative, LPNM aims to increase the number of entrepreneurs involved through community clusters and partnerships with players in the craft and fashion industries.

He said LPNM is also strengthening its by-product value chain through ‘Pinapeat’, a semi-processed product made from dried pineapple waste.

“The pilot commercial-scale pineapple waste project, to start operations this year in Rompin, Pahang, will produce more Pinapeat for use in animal feed and as raw pulp material for paper, boxes and food packaging products,” he said.

Elmie Adha added that there is interest from Japanese companies to import Pinapeat for livestock feed, with samples already sent for nutritional analysis.

“With nearly 19,000 hectares of pineapple cultivation nationwide -- an estimated 800 million plants -- the supply of raw materials for fibre-based industries and other products is vast and full of potential,” he said.

Meanwhile, pineapple fibre entrepreneur Munah Abd Kadir, 52, of Benang Serat Nanas M & Z, said LPNM’s effort to elevate pineapple weaving as a high-value craft underscores its commitment to optimising the ‘plant of a thousand uses’.

Munah, who has produced pineapple fibre yarn for over a decade, said the process requires precision, patience and delicate craftsmanship passed down through generations.

“For weaving, mature leaves are boiled for 15 minutes, soaked in cold water with natural stabilisers such as asam keping for 24 hours to retain colour and prevent mould, and dried under a covered area using natural heat before being cut into uniform strips.

“All pineapple fibre crafts are made naturally without chemicals, using three main varieties, namely Josapine, N36 and MD2, each offering different fibre textures and strengths,” she added.

-- BERNAMA