Chinese eyeing Malaysian durian, coffee, bird’s nest
DURIAN, coffee and bird’s nest – those are the three most popular Malaysian products that the Chinese are eyeing.
Other products well received during the “Food, Hotel, Catering China Expo” at the Shanghai New International Exhibition Centre were confectioneries, food sauces and pastes.
Malaysian International Trade and Industry Minister II Ong Ka Chuan said a total of 40 Malaysian companies managed to rake in sales worth nearly 125 million ringgit (Bt1 billion).
“This sales figure is not possible to achieve back home,” he said after launching the “Malaysia in Shanghai” programme in China’s largest city on Thursday.
“Malaysian entrepreneurs enjoyed the success within just three days of the expo.”
Ong said that last year, Malaysia exported 1.5 billion ringgit worth of food and beverage items to China. Among them, 253 million ringgit worth were coffee and coffee-based products and 23.5 million ringgit durian and durian-based products.
He said Malaysian companies had vast potential to grow in China and that plans were in the pipeline to bring Malaysian products further into interior areas.
“In the past, we tapped the market of coastal cities such as Shanghai and Guangzhou, but now we are looking at Chengdu, Henan and Wuhan,” he said.
At a briefing session on investment opportunities in Malaysia, Ong told potential investors that Malaysia had successfully transformed from an agriculture-based to an industrial-based nation.
“Malaysia is a good place to invest. We are peaceful [and] stable and enjoy sustainable growth,” he told more than 500 Chinese entrepreneurs.
Ong said Malaysia’s total exports to China in the first eight months of this year were valued at 58.93 billion ringgit.
Among the products, 25.45 billion ringgit worth were electronic and electrical items, followed by petroleum products (4.7 billion ringgit) and palm oil and palm-oil-based products (3.13 billion ringgit).
On the month-long “Malaysia in Shanghai” programme, he said it was to promote Malaysia as a trade, investment, tourism and business destination.
Among the highlights are a “Taste of Malaysia” food promotion and a business-matchmaking session .