Four states have yet to explore Singapore market through Agrobazaar Malaysia

Four states - Sabah, Sarawak, Perlis and Selangor - have yet to market their agro-based food products through Agrobazaar Malaysia in Singapore.

Agrobazaar Malaysia General Manager Noor Hisham said Agrobazaar Malaysia was ready to become a platform for them to promote and market their agro-based food products.

"They should take this opportunity to enter the Singapore market due to the overwhelming response," he said at the Malaysia Halal Centre, a sales and promotion platform for Malaysian products in the Big Box Hypermarket here Saturday.

He said the Malaysia Halal Centre occupies about 4,000 square feet of floor area in the Big Box Hypermarket to market Malaysian products.

"It is the largest area compared with that of products from other countries such as Japan, Korea and China at the Big Box," he said.

With additional sales platforms such as the Malaysia Halal Centre, he said Agrobaazar Malaysia aims to increase sales by 30 per cent this year with 800 stock keeping units (SKUs).

He said since Agrobazaar Malaysia started operations in the republic in August 2014, it has recorded a yearly sales of RM4.5 million on average, starting with 100 SKUs and now reaching 600 SKUs.

An entity owned by the Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority Authority (FAMA), Agrobazaar Malaysia acts as a sales and promotion centre in Singapore for agro-based industrial products from all Malaysian states.

In 2016 alone, Agrobazaar Malaysia become a marketplace for agro-based products from several states like Melaka and Terengganu.

Meanwhile, FAMA Deputy Director of Operations Datuk Sharifah Hashim said the agency had added three new sales platforms, to bring the total to five, to showcase the products of Malaysian entrepreneurs in the Lion City.

She said the three new platforms were the Global Halal Hub, the Mustafa Centre and the Cold Storage, which had been operating in stages since September last year.

"Through this continuous effort, we strive to spread our wings to widen the market for our products in Singapore and globally," he said.

FAMA opened Agrobazaar Malaysia in Jalan Sultan Gate as a distribution centre in 2014 and the Malaysia in Halal Centre in the Big Box Hypermarket in April last year.

Sharifah said the export value of Malaysian agro-food products in Singapore was about RM5 billion in 2015 and that amount was expected to increase.

"Therefore, Malaysian entrepreneurs have been urged to seize the opportunity to market their products together with FAMA in Singapore as we still have spaces for them, hence increasing revenue and their brands globally," he said.

In the latest development, the Penang Bumiputera Development Council, in collaboration with, Agrobazaar Malaysia launched the Seri Pinang Fest to market over 50 SKUs under the Seri Pinang brand last Friday.

The event was officiated by Special Adviser to the Prime Minister for the Northern Corridor Economic Region Datuk Seri Zainal Abidin Osman.

Efforts to market the products under the Seri Pinang brand began in July 2016.

Chairman of Focus Group Committee of Penang's Indigenious Entrepreneur Development, Datuk Seri Muhammad Farid Saad noted that as at Jan 7, some products received repeat orders up to six times.

Among Seri Pinang products that recorded brisk sales were those produced by Pak Ali Food Industries, Terang Bulan Food, AFA Food, Ghoniyyun Sdn Bhd, Cemara Food Industries, M'DEE Enterprise, Syarikat Hang Tuah Sdn Bhd, SNR Agrotech, and DFN Jitu.

The total value of the Seri Pinang products which were brought into the republic was approximately RM50,000, he said.

The Seri Pinang Fest also features the Seri Pinang Plate 2017, which runs for one month until Feb 12, offering Mi Goreng Mamak (fried noodles), Char Koay Teow, Pasembor, Mi Udang (prawn curry noodles), Cikedut Yogurt, Rojak Jeruk, Mango Pickle Lassi, Salak Pickle Lassi at Agrobazaar Malaysia's Veranda Cafe. -- Bernama