DUBAI: The Malaysian Rubber Council (MRC) is showcasing made-in-Malaysia rubber products in Expo 2020 Dubai at the Malaysia Pavilion to tap the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) market.
Capitalising on the expo's global reach, MRC has also launched the Malaysian Rubber Products Virtual Showcase (MaRViS), an online platform to facilitates online business engagements between international buyers and Malaysian rubber product manufacturers.
Some of the key rubber products featured include pre-cured treads; engineered rubber products used in construction, railway, mining and marine; latex foam and mattresses; rubber medical devices such as medical gloves, condoms and rubber catheters; rubber gloves; rubber automotive components; and green rubber.
MRC had also earlier participated in Arab Health 2022, from Jan 24 to 27, to promote Malaysian-made high-quality rubber medical devices.
Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin launched the Rubber Forum 2022 via online at the Malaysia Pavilion.
The forum was to share Malaysia's sustainable rubber industry and highlight emerging global trends as well engage potential global rubber players, especially in Middle East, for strategic collaborations and investment opportunities.
In 2021 (Jan-Oct), the rubber industry contributed RM63.16 billion in export earnings to Malaysia, an increase of RM26.16 billion or 71 per cent higher compared to the previous year.
The current Covid-19 pandemic generated a substantial additional demand for rubber gloves and other rubber-based healthcare products
.
MRB also conducted two pocket talks on innovative and green products, namely Ekoprena and Pureprena, which are advanced natural rubber that are environmentally-friendly for its production using natural materials from renewable sources.
Ekoprena and Pureprena can be used in the production of various rubber materials including niche applications such as shoes, tyres, bearings, fenders and other automotive products.
The Tun Abdul Razak Research Centre (TARRC) also highlighted their latest and highly engineered rubber-based technologies to be benefited by rubber industry players.
TARRC is a rubber research and development centre under the MRB based in the United Kingdom.
TARRC has contributed significantly to the Malaysian and international rubber industry such as conducting upstream and downstream rubber research and providing technical assistance and consultancy to the global rubber industry, among others.
The MRB also conducted a latex painting demonstration at the Malaysia Pavilion, a fun and interactive art activity using natural rubber latex from Malaysia.
Visitors were able to enjoy this activity first-hand and bring home their art creations as a souvenir.
The Malaysia Pavilion is to host 26 weekly thematic business programmes at the ongoing expo from Oct 1, 2021 to Mar 31, 2022 to promote sustainable industries.