DUBAI: Malaysia's important food-based agricultural commodities - palm oil, cocoa and pepper - are among items highlighted at the Malaysia Pavilion in Expo 2020 Dubai this week.
The Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry (MPIC) is hosting the Malaysia Sustainable Agri commodity Week (Food Agri commodities).
The "Malaysian Palm Oil Full of Goodness" tag would be the main promotion and marketing theme for the palm oil industry throughout the week.
Deputy Minister Datuk Willie Anak Mongin, representing MPIC, witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understandings (MoU) between Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) and Lulu Hypermarket to market Malaysian palm oil-based products in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
For the cocoa industry, MPIC, via the Malaysian Cocoa Board (MCB), will focus on producing single-origin and premium quality cocoa beans to meet the market's high demand and ensure the products comply with the Malaysian Standards and other international standards, including for food safety.
With global cocoa consumption projected to be worth RM502 billion, the Ministry has drafted various initiatives to achieve the targeted export value as well as harness the industry's great potentials.
The Ministry is confident that with the application of the latest methods in crop planting, harvesting, post-harvest and cocoa bean processing, and managing cocoa genetic materials, Malaysia could become one of the high-quality cocoa beans producers in the world.
Another important milestone of the week is the MoU signing between MCB and Agrocloud Sdn Bhd on strategic partnership in developing smart technology for cocoa farming.
The collaboration will focus on enhancing the productivity of Malaysian cocoa planting via a concept or regime operating under the Internet of Things (IoT) and any farming methodologies regarded as modern farming methodologies, including mechanisation, precision farming, and automated farming.
Meanwhile, Malaysia's pepper is renowned for its high quality in terms of pungency, flavour and aroma compared to other pepper producing countries.
The Malaysian Pepper Board (MPB) will highlight value-added pepper products produced by SMEs and premium pepper such as creamy white pepper (CWP) which are halal certified.
Several matters, such as new products, import regulations, consumption trends, quality and offer prices will also be discussed with existing buyers and prospective buyers during the Dubai Expo 2020 exhibition.
MPIC and its agencies have also lined up exciting activities for visitors to the Malaysia Pavilion, such as cooking demonstrations, online contests, soap making workshops, Beyond the Canopy Art Workshop, as well as special talks on sustainable Malaysian palm oil, cocoa and pepper.
Meanwhile, Mongin said despite the rough economic climate worldwide, Malaysia agri commodity trade continues to perform reasonably well.
From Jan to Nov 2021, the agri commodity sector has contributed total export revenue of RM189.5 billion to the Malaysian economy. This value has exceeded Malaysia's total export revenue for 2020 of RM152 billion.
He also expressed hope that MPIC's presence at the World Expo 2020 Dubai will help to tap the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) market, as well as facilitate potential joint ventures and foreign investment from the MENA region.
The expo is ongoing now from Oct 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022, under the theme 'Connecting minds, creating the future', 170 participating countries present ideas, innovations and technologies.