KUALA LUMPUR: More than 40,000 users have registered with agriculture portal Agribazaar and enjoyed its benefits for free for the past four years.

Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed said the portal had been well received as it had reduced the administration costs and no third party was involved.

"This is a good platform for industry players to conduct online trading of their products directly to consumers.

"So far, the cumulative transaction value done through the portal has exceeded RM285 million. This shows that the average transaction value in a year is RM50 million," he said after launching the inaugural National Agribazaar Conference here on Tuesday.

The e-commerce portal connects food producers, wholesalers, distributors, entrepreneurs and consumers through Internet-based e-plan, e-buy/sell, e-stock and e-logistic modules, among others.
Members of the portal, of whom 70 per cent are sellers and 30 per cent are buyers, can use the tools for free to access various information besides conducting daily transactions.

Mustapa said the ministry would also conduct a survey on the total product value exported to foreign countries as demand was increasing in the Middle East, Singapore and Brunei.

"We will do an analysis so we can get a clearer picture of the demand of local products in the international market.

"We are also trying to get an input from industry players at the conference on how to improve the portal."

A total of 500 participants attended the two-day conference.

One of them, Noor Elleyza Ariffin, from Perak, said the portal had huge potential to promote local agricultural products globally.

The 30-year-old who is into eel breeding said Agribazaar had not only helped her market her products for free but had also attracted foreign wholesalers.

The portal, developed by the Agriculture Department and Mimos Bhd, was launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in 2004.