Its agriculture division is expected to start contributing to company’s revenue from 2019 onwards

By SHAHEERA AZNAM SHAH / Pic By ISMAIL CHE RUS

Bioalpha Holdings Bhd, a health supplement and beauty products manufacturer, plans to boost the harvest at its Pasir Raja Herbal Park in Terengganu to 2,000 tonnes annually by 2020.

Its MD William Hon Tian Kok (picture) said the ACE Market-listed firm’s agriculture division is expected to start contributing to the firm’s revenue from 2019 onwards.

“At present, the firm’s farming activities are still in the gestation period as some crops have a longer maturity age.

“We are adding more crops as we progress along and would see the contribution from agriculture business increasing gradually from 2019 onwards as more plants reach maturity,” he said in a statement yesterday.

The Pasir Raja Herbal Park, which spans approximately 1,004 acres (406.3ha), was developed for the cultivation of raw herbs for Bioalpha’s in-house production of herbal-based health supplements.

Presently, more than 260 acres of the herbal park have been fully-planted with crops, while the remaining 744 acres are undergoing land clearing and planting activities, which the company expects to be completed by 2020.

“We are optimistic on the outlook of our agriculture division as the second phase of our development is on track for completion by 2020,” Hon said, adding that more than 20 types of crops have been planted at the herbal park.

Moving forward, Hon said a new Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) processing plant is planned to be constructed in order to increase the firm’s harvest volume at the Pasir Raja Herbal Park.

“In anticipation to increase the harvest volume, we plan to expand the production capacity by constructing an HACCP processing plant in the third quarter of 2018 (3Q18), which will be utilised to process the herbs harvested on-site,” he said, adding that the plant is forecast to be completed by 1Q19.

“With this expansion plan in place, we are positive that our agriculture business will grow and contribute positively to the firm’s revenue going forward,” he said.

Hon said as the firm’s harvest volume rise, Bioalpha is planning to supply the harvested products to external parties to create another income stream.

“Currently, our output from the herbal park is being utilised in-house to ensure the continuous availability of raw materials supply for our health supplement manufacturing division.

“However, we are currently in a discussion with several prominent food brands to supply raw herbs for their production,” he said.

Hon added that the firm has appointed new distributors to manage Bioalpha’s marketing strategy — particularly towards potential international buyers such as China, Vietnam and Taiwan.

Apart from the Pasir Raja Herbal Park, Bioalpha also operates a 300- acre herbal park in Desaru, Johor.

Hon said the first phase of the development at the Desaru park — which involved the planting of 100 acres of land — has been completed, while the second phase is ready to commence for the remaining 200 acres.