Kuala Lumpur : Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said yesterday local herb-based products have a good market in Malaysia and hence there herbs should be grown on a plantation scale to ensure steady supply for the market.

The Deputy Prime Minister said producers of herbal products should take the initiative in this and plant the herbs so as to prevent them from becoming extinct.

" I notice that local herbs such as tongkat ali and kacip fatimah as well as buah mengkudu have been processed into capsules and have become increasingly popular and this is a new development," he said.

"However, has there been any effort to ensure that these herbs do not become extinct in view of their wide demand and use," he said when speaking to reporters after visiting the Love Malaysian Product Expo ’99 here.

Abdullah feared that if there was no commercial cultivation of the herbs, local herb-based products would be affected.

He said for instance in the United States, the aloe plant was grown on a large scale as several products such as cosmetics and food supplements were made from it.

Such large scale cultivation of the plant ensured steady supply of raw materials for the production of the various items, he added.

He lamented that eventhough in Malaysia the aloe plant could grow well there was not much interest among the local people because they did not have the skills to produce items based on extracts from the plant.

Abdullah also said even though the public response to local products was encouraging, still research and development had to be done to enhance the quality of the products.

He said to ensure that the people continued to buy ‘local goods’ producers should provide more variety through use of expertise and the best technology.

The Deputy Prime Minister was confident that local products such as furniture would sell well even at a high price if its quality was better or on par with imports.

Source : Daily Express, 20.8.99