Selection of buyers among pineapple farmers in Samarahan, Sarawak / Fadia Hani Apandi

Pineapple or locally called as nanas is the second important fruits after bananas which contributed over 20% of the world production of tropical fruits. The pineapple is being cultivated extensively in many parts of the world including Malaysia and commonly consumed fresh or in processed form. The pineapple industry has a high potential to develop as it contributes high positives return to the country's economy. Realizing the importance of this industry, the government has formed a statutory body, the Malaysia Pineapple Industrial Board (MPIB) to provide attention to all matters related to the pineapple industry. However, the production of pineapple in Sarawak is still limited for the domestic market and none is being exported to other countries or even outside of Sarawak region. Though the study area has great potential of pineapple production, the farmers in Samarahan still faced the marketing problem in selection of pineapple buyers. Marketing plays an important role in pineapple production where the main substance is the selection of buyers. Different selection of buyers offers different price to the pineapple farmers. In order to increase the profits, pineapple farmers should know which buyers offer the best price. Farmers decision on the selection of buyers will directly affect every other marketing decision. Hence, the purpose of this study is to provide the information about current buyers of pineapple available in Samarahan, Sarawak which can help the pineapple farmers to market their product wisely. This study also aims to investigate the relationship between farmer's socio-demographic profiles, farm profile and their preference in selection of buyers. In particular, this study was conducted in order to examine the factors that highly influenced the grower's preference towards the selection of pineapple buyers. The study was conducted in Samarahan, Sarawak among 117 farmers in Samarahan, Sarawak. Two stage sampling procedure was used to select 117 farmers. In the first stage, 20 villages (Meranek, Sungai Mata, Niup, Naie, Empila, Mang, Sungai Tambai, Tambay, Lubok Punggor, Pinang, Endap, Jemukan, Terasi, Lubok Mata, Sui, Simunjan, Tembirat, Semera, Baru, and Melayu) were selected by purposive sampling technique. In the second stage, a total of 117 pineapple farmers were selected randomly from the selected sample villages by using simple random sampling technique. Face to face interviews was conducted using a structure questionnaire in order to collect primary data from selected farmers. The data was analysed using a descriptive analysis, chi-square analysis and factor analysis. SPSS statistics version 21 for windows was used for the data processing and analysis. The results of this study showed that pineapple farmers in Samarahan sold their produce to seven buyers, which are private middlemen, Federal Agriculture Marketing Authority (FAMA), buyers at roadside stand market, buyers at farmer market, restaurant owner, grocery stores owner and neighbours within the village. The finding based on the chi-square analysis indicated that age, level of education, year of operation and farm size have a significant relationship with preferences in selection of pineapple buyers. Meanwhile, service rendered by buyer, quality and quantity, price, and distance are factors that influenced the farmers' preference towards the selection of pineapple buyers. The results from this study could provide an opportunity for the government agencies especially Malaysian Pineapple Industry Board to establish effective strategies for production and marketing system of growers in the pineapple industry in Sarawak.