Bernama.com (Malaysian National News Agency), 11 March, 2007

Malaysia Opens Agriculture Office In Beijing

BEIJING, March 11 (Bernama) -- Malaysia has opened an agriculture office in China, its second overseas after the Netherlands, to help fruit and fisheries producers penetrate the huge market here.

The unit is headed by Kamarularifin Ab Gani, a fluent Mandarin speaker who has a master's degree in management from a Beijing university.

"We have received quite a lot of enquiries from Malaysian exporters already. We are planning on a major promotion in the China Agriculture Exhibition in October in Beijing," Kamarularifin said.

His duties also include promoting Malaysia as a `halal' processing hub and to source for food in short supply in Malaysia like beef to export back.

Kamarularifin said for a start, Malaysia will focus on increasing exports of papayas, starfruit and pomelos to China starting in the bigger cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

"Currently, our exports of fruits to China is quite small, so there is a lot of room for expansion. At the same, there is also a lot of competition from other tropical sources like Thailand and the Philippines," he said.

"But the populous Chinese market and growing affluence in its eastern coastal belt provides plenty of potential for the `Malaysia's Best' tagged fruits," Kamarularifin said, pointing to the presence of international supermarket chains like Wal-Mart, Carrefour, Tesco and also Malaysia's Parkson stores here.

Malaysia is also keen to export fresh water fish like the catfish, processed products and ornamental fish such as the koi and arowana which are popular with the Chinese community.

Malaysia is among the top suppliers of ornamental fish for the world market.

Exporters can contact Kamarularifin on his email (akamarul@agri.moa.my). He had served as assistant science and technology director with the former Science, Technology and the Environment Ministry and completed a master's degree at the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications.

The Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry plans to open similar offices in five other countries this year, in Thailand, Japan, Australia, United Arab Emirates and the United States.

-- BERNAMA