08
Local News
@Halal | July-august. 2020
Eye
on Malaysia
Vietnam views Malaysia as potential
export market and gateway to global
halal market
Malaysia could potentially
become one of the biggest
export markets in Asean for
Vietnam.
Nguyen Tuan, deputy director
of the HCM City Investment
and Trade Promotion Centre (ITPC), told a
seminar on exports to Malaysia organised
by the centre that economic and trade
cooperation between the countries has been
growing in recent years.
Vietnam and Malaysia are members of
the Asean Economic Community (AEC) and
the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement
for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP),
he said to Vietnam News Agency.
In 2016, Malaysia surpassed Singapore to
become Vietnam’s second-largest trading
partner in Asean after Thailand, he said.
He added: “It is the third-largest export
market for Vietnam in the region after Thailand
and Cambodia.”
“The centre has taken drastic measures
to support businesses to increase exports by
developing new supply chains and expanding
and diversifying export markets.”
Beyond being an export market, Malaysia
could also provide a gateway for the Vietnam
exporters to tap into the global halal market.
Raphy Md Radzi, Malaysia’s Trade Commissioner
in HCM City, said Vietnam and
Nguyen Tuan, deputy
director of the HCM City
Investment and Trade
Promotion Centre, speaks
at a seminar on exports
to Malaysia in the city on
July 16.
Malaysia were important trade partners and
should enhance promotions to achieve their
trade targets after the pandemic.
Vietnamese exporters could coordinate
with Malaysian service companies for the
distribution of their goods globally, he added.
Theng Bee Han, chairman of the Malaysia
Business Chamber, too said: “Vietnamese
businesses should not only consider Malaysia
a potential export market but also
cooperate with Malaysian companies to tap
the world market.”
Malaysia has a sizeable Muslim population,
and therefore exports to it must meet
Halal standards for products like food, medicine
and cosmetics, and should also comply
with food safety, labelling and traceability
regulations, he said.
It is expected that by 2030 the global Halal
industry will be worth 30.6 trillion USD,
including 1.1 trillion USD in the Asia Pacific
region, with Malaysia accounting for 228.5
billion USD, he said.
Vietnamese farm produce and seafood
products meet Malaysia’s food
standards, and when they receive Halal
certification, they could be exported to the
country, he said.
Vietnam exports computers, electronic
products and parts, mobile phones, iron and
steel, glass products, vehicles, garments and
textiles, and wood and timber products to
Malaysia, and imports petroleum, electronic
components, plastics, chemicals, and textiles
from it.
Malaysia also has great demand for farm
produce such as rice, fruits, vegetables, and
pepper, office clothes, seafood, footwear,
office furniture, in which Vietnam has
strengths.
It is among the largest rice importers in
ASEAN, with annual demand at 900,000-1
million tonnes.
Last year, Vietnam surpassed Thailand to
become Malaysia’s largest rice supplier with
shipments worth nearly US$219 million.
Malaysia’s GDP last year topped US$364.7
billion, making it the 33rd largest economy
in the world and third largest in Southeast
Asia.
Its income per capita was US$11,200.
— VNA
Matrade:
Halal players
can penetrate
overseas
markets at
minimal cost
Malaysia External Trade Development
Corporation (Matrade) is calling on more
local halal players to capitalise on the
Malaysia International Halal Showcase
(Mihas) to expand their businesses
abroad at a minimal cost.
Matrade director of halal, F&B and
agro-based section Remee Yaakub said
to The Edge Markets: “The international
trade fair has come a long way since its
inception in 2004, having facilitated some
RM17.24 billion in sales of halal products
and services over the last 16 years.”
“Participation in international trade
events [abroad] can be costly and burdensome
for many. But Mihas, which is held
locally, allows participants to attract
foreign clients at a fraction of the cost of
doing it abroad,” he told a webinar titled
“Halal Quest” during the virtual AmBank
BizConference held on July 17.
“Last year marked our 16th edition.
Between 2005 and 2019, Malaysia
recorded RM17.24 billion of sales from
Mihas alone,” he said, adding that during
that period, they brought more than 4,300
foreign buyers to engage with Malaysian
companies and explore cross-border
trade opportunities.
According to Dinar Standard’s “State
of the Global Islamic Economy Report
2019/20”, Muslims spent US$2.2 trillion in
2018, a 5.2 per cent growth year-on-year.
The amount is expected to increase
to US$3.2 trillion by 2024, at a compound
annual growth rate of 6.2 per cent.
Growing at an estimated annual rate
of 20 per cent, the industry is valued at
about US$560 billion a year, according
to reports. Thus, making it one of the
fastest-growing consumer segments in
the world.