The Malaysian Pepper Board said the work includes laboratory testing, certification, grading and enforcement. Japan remains Malaysia’s main pepper export destination, making its import requirements an important benchmark for growers and processors.

The board is also pushing beyond raw pepper. It has guided 77 micro, small and medium enterprises producing 220 pepper-based retail products; 11 have reached Level 4 of its entrepreneurship rating programme and entered international markets, while 42 received financing to expand.

The downstream products now include food and drinks, personal-care items, extracts and essential oils. The board said their combined annual sales value was estimated at RM20 million.

For Sarawak’s pepper sector, the message is practical: the GI label only carries value if the product’s origin, quality and safety can be consistently demonstrated from farm to export shelf.