From January to November 2021, the Malaysian agricommodity sector has contributed total export revenue of RM189.5 billion to the the nation’s coffer. This value has exceeded Malaysia’s total export revenue of 2020 totalled at RM152 billion.
This the main message of Deputy Minister Datuk Willie Anak Mongin: Despite the rough economic climate worldwide, Malaysia agricommodity trade continues to perform reasonably well.
The Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities (MPIC) is hosting the Malaysia Sustainable Agricommodity Week (Food Agricommodities) from 7 to 12 February 2022 at the World Expo 2020, Dubai. The focus of this week is on Malaysia’s important agricultural commodities, namely palm oil, cocoa and pepper.
For the palm oil industry, the concept of “Sustainable Agri-commodity” provides a strong platform for Malaysia in expanding the global market for palm oil exports. Malaysian Palm Oil Full of Goodness would be the main promotion and marketing theme for the palm oil industry throughout the week.
Sustainable initiatives and management in the Malaysian palm oil industry will also be the week’s highlight. These initiatives include Malaysia Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) Certification Scheme regulatory guidelines, Good Agricultural Practices and the development of cutting-edge technology by the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors of the industry.
Through the Malaysian Cocoa Board (MCB), the cocoa industry will focus on producing single-origin and premium quality cocoa beans to meet the market’s high demand and ensure the products comply with the Malaysian and international standards and regulations for food safety and best practices.
The global cocoa consumption is projected to be worth US$120 billion at present, the Ministry has drafted various initiatives to achieve the targeted export value as well as harness the industry’s great potential. The Ministry is confident that with the application of the latest method in crop planting, harvesting, post-harvest and cocoa bean processing, and managing cocoa genetic materials, Malaysia could become one of the high-quality cocoa bean producers in the world.
The MoU signing between MCB and Agrocloud Sdn Bhd is a milestone of this week which signifies the strategic partnership in developing smart technology for cocoa farming. The collaboration will focus on enhancing the productivity of Malaysian cocoa planting via a concept or regime operating under the Internet of Things (IoT) and any farming methodologies regarded as modern farming methodologies, including mechanisation, precision farming, and automated farming.
Malaysia’s pepper is renowned for its high quality i.e. its pungency, flavour and aroma vis-a-vis other peppers. The Malaysian Pepper Board (MPB) will highlight value-added pepper products produced by SMEs and premium pepper such as Creamy White Pepper (CWP) which are halal certified. Several matters, such as new products, import regulations, consumption trends, quality and offer prices will also be discussed with existing buyers and prospective buyers during the Dubai Expo 2020 exhibition.
MPIC and its agencies have also lined up exciting activities for visitors to the Malaysia Pavilion at the Expo 2020 Dubai, such as cooking demonstrations, online contests, soap making workshops, Beyond The Canopy Art Workshop, as well as special talks on sustainable Malaysian palm oil, cocoa and pepper.
