Agriculture show to unite ASEAN, China
Novan Iman Santosa The Jakarta Post/Bangkok
The ASEAN-China free trade arrangement (FTA) and its potential for the region's agricultural industry has inspired a Malaysian company to organize an integrated agriculture show featuring representatives from all 11 signatories.
The company, Ten Plus One Ltd Co, will organize the ASEAN China Agriculture Show from Nov. 25 to Nov. 28 at Kuala Lumpur's Malaysia International Exhibition and Convention Centre. The event is believed to be the first-ever ASEAN-China expo specializing in agriculture.
"We are only picking up the Malaysian government's emphasis on the agriculture sector as part of (Malaysia's) third engine of growth," Kerk Loong Sing said on Tuesday.
"Malaysia has seen a declining role in agriculture. After independence, agriculture contributed some 85 percent to the state revenue but now the figure has dropped drastically to only 8.5 percent," he said.
Kerk said Malaysia spent some US$15 billion a year on food and food products imported from countries like Indonesia and Thailand.
"We can learn from each other and Thailand is the best example for agriculture success stories in our region about how to penetrate the global market.
"Meanwhile, China is now improving the quality of its agricultural products as they now can penetrate the markets of South Korea and even protective Japan.
"The exhibition will become a good venue to exchange experiences and ideas," he said.
Kerk said China could no longer rely on its cheap labor and had intensified research and development activities expecting that in the next four to five years the Chinese products would multiply in numbers and improve in quality.
ASEAN and China have a total combined market of 1.8 billion people.
The agriculture expo will also feature a special section on halal food.
"Halal food is not only a huge market but also a specific one because food has to be processed according to Islamic law; hence the importance of a certification process," he said.
A half-day seminar would also be held in conjunction with the exhibition, Kerk said.
"The Malaysian deputy minister of agriculture and agro-based industries (PUT NAME HERE) will be the keynote speaker," he said.
"Another Malaysian speaker will speak on halal food certification, meanwhile Thailand will talk about its success story in agriculture and China will deliver its plan for Chinese agriculture development."
The exhibition would not only benefit ASEAN and China but also those in the Middle East and Africa, he said.
"People from the Middle East are now turning to our region because they feeling unwelcome in the United States and Europe, especially because of what is going on in their area.
"The exhibition will become a good opportunity for us to offer our products, especially regarding halal food," he said.