Dungun coconut growers report lower income amid Indonesian imports
The project head said Fama was buying coconuts at RM1.10 each, compared with RM2.50 previously paid by wholesalers and traders.
A group of 69 coconut growers in Kampung Dendang, Dungun, say their earnings have fallen since the start of 2026 as cheaper imports from Indonesia reduce demand for their produce.
Speaking at the farming project on November 9, project head Mohamed Zakaria Awang, 66, said growers who previously earned more than RM2,000 monthly were now receiving around RM500 because coconut prices had declined.
He said Indonesian coconuts were selling for 80 sen each, prompting most local wholesalers and coconut milk traders to favour imports over the project's Matang variety.
The Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (Fama) was helping growers market their coconuts by purchasing them for RM1.10 each, Mohamed Zakaria said. Wholesalers and traders had previously paid RM2.50.
Participant Zahari Abdullah, 61, said falling prices had discouraged some growers from continuing with the project. Some plots were no longer being properly maintained despite the trees remaining productive, he said, expressing concern that more participants could leave if returns stayed low.
Terengganu Fama director Muhamad Fadlee Hassan said the authority had bought coconuts from participants between April 29 and November 3. He said those purchases would be sold through local wholesalers and Fama shops in the Kuala Terengganu district.
The group planted 5,000 trees across 20 hectares in 2009, with production beginning in 2012.
