Image credit: Daily Sabah
KOTA KINABALU Sept 21): Industrial Development and Entrepreneurship minister Phoong Jin Zhe wants to see more participation in export activities by local entrepreneurs.
This is because the state’s export activities are low compared to other states in the country, he said.
Speaking to reporters after visiting the booths at the Sabah International Expo 2023 (SIE 2023) here on Thursday, Phoong disclosed that according to latest SME Corp data and the World Bank report published last year, Sabah’s export activities are too low compared to other states in Malaysia.
“Less than 10 per cent of our local businesses are doing export business. The World Bank report quoted that only two per cent of our local firms are doing export business. This causes other consequential factors such as high logistics cost while the shipping and port activities will be low.
“We really need to encourage our entrepreneurs to participate in the export business and SIE 2023 plays a very significant role to open up our doors to the international market,” he said.
Phoong said local businesses must be brave and courageous to venture and embrace the bigger market.
He urged local entrepreneurs especially in the manufacturing sector and especially the food related industry to go bigger.
“Tap into the global market. I can see the highest potential through the feedback from the international market. Last week, I met a company under DiDR Sabah at the Malaysia International halal showcase (MIHAS). I was informed that the company closed the deal of sales worth RM1 million at the event and they are about to sign the export agreement with Japan.
“This shows that there is a huge demand for Sabah’s products, especially food and seafood. Today I witnessed several MoU signings between the state and Sarawak and Brunei Darussalam.
“We signed one MoU with Sarawak and four with Brunei Darussalam, all pertaining to the food industry which is one of Sabah’s strengths currently. But of course we want other industries to flourish in Sabah and I hope these success stories can encourage and motivate our entrepreneurs to venture into bigger markets,” said Phoong.
He expressed confidence that SIE 2023 with 340 booths and more than 20 countries participating will achieve better results this year.
The four-day event is the 10th edition and is filled with many trade activities including a mini Thailand exhibition to showcase their products as well as encouraging more trade activities between Sabah and the country.
This, Phoong said, is a very positive sign as it indicates that people are excited with the business prospects available not only domestically but also internationally.
Source: https://www.theborneopost.com/2023/09/21/sabahs-export-activities-too-low-phoong/