KOTA KINABALU, March 9 — Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu said the export of halal processed food products has now successfully penetrated over 150 countries worldwide, which includes 1.8 billion Muslims.
The market is wide open, and with redoubled efforts, it is not impossible that one day Malaysia’s local halal products will not only be concentrated in Muslim-majority countries but will also become the product of choice and have a high demand in all corners of the world.
“It is the desire of the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry (MAFS) to see local products penetrate the international market.
“Therefore, MAFS and other related ministries always support the efforts of the local food industry activists to develop products and services at the global level via various government incentives whether in the form of advisory services, training, funding grants and tax incentives,” he said.
Mohamad was speaking at the officiation of the Sabah International Food Expo 2024 (SIFEX2024) at the Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC) today.
SIFEX2024 highlights food products, beverages, SMI (small and medium industries) products and fruits involving 300 business booths to be filled by entrepreneurs from Sabah, Sarawak, Peninsular Malaysia, as well as foreign participants.
The three-day event, which started yesterday, ends tomorrow and is open from 10am to 8pm.
Meanwhile, he said digital technology in the Industrial Revolution 4.0 era is currently affecting all levels of the agro-food value chain.
“Digitalisation coupled with innovation and eco-innovation to gain a more sustainable competitive advantage. In other words, digital technology is the key to transforming the way food is produced, processed, sold, and consumed.
“In this context, we can always see the extraordinary success of entrepreneurs, especially among the youth who are more synonymous with social media influencers, who successfully double their sources of income by increasing sales of local products through social media platforms,” Mohamad said.
Accordingly, the minister believes Sabah’s youth are also capable of producing food products which can potentially be marketed and sold nationwide via digital application platforms, both online and offline.
— Bernama
