KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Plastics Manufacturers Association (MPMA) has begun expanding the sales of plastics products to new markets through the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
MPMA's president Datuk Lim Kok Boon said there are three new markets for the plastics sector, namely Canada, Mexico and Peru.
"These countries did not have any free trade agreement with Malaysia previously.
"Canada is the first export destination that our members are looking at as the import duties for plastics products have been eliminated since 1 January 2023 from a maximum of 6.5 per cent," said Lim.
He said the Cost and Benefit Analysis (CBA) studies released by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) showed that all these three countries are net importers of plastics products.
Currently, the major export markets for Malaysian-made plastics products are the EU, ASEAN and Japan.
The implementation of the CPTPP will widen the export market opportunities for the plastics manufacturing industry in Malaysia, said MPMA.
"The Malaysian plastics manufacturers have established a firm footing in the export market with their superior product quality and supply reliability.
"Malaysia has maintained its position as the largest producer of plastics stretch film in Asia for years.
"Stretch film is a packaging material that is widely used worldwide. With this background, we believe that our products will gain popularity in the CPTPP market," he said.
Lim added that with the general anticipation of a further slowdown in most of the developed economies next year, the opening up the new markets would widen market opportunities to cushion part of the impact of weakening demand from the traditional export countries.
"The implementation of the CPTPP will also attract foreign direct investments for investors to set up their manufacturing base in the country given the wider market opportunities for their products.
"This will augur well for the manufacturing sector, which in turn will benefit the country," he said.