TERENGGANU ATTRACTED TO BUSINESS POSSIBILITIES IN MIDDLE EAST

By Muin Abdul Majid

DUBAI, March 16 (Bernama) -- The recent Gulfood Exhibition 2010 here has
been an eye-opener for Terengganu, with officials saying the east coast state in
Peninsular Malaysia, has a range of products that would appeal to the Middle
East market.

Terengganu's maiden participation in the event was led by State Rural,
Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development Committee Chairman, Mohamed
Awang Tera.

He brought along a number of business entities nurtured under the
Terengganu Entrepreneur Development Foundation to showcase what the state had to
offer potential customers in the region and beyond.

He told Bernama in an interview that the move was part of Terengganu's
programme to promote small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Among items showcased by the Terengganu team in Dubai were roselle
juice, canned food products, lemongrass-based health and skincare products,
energy drink and vinegar derived from the nipah palm, premixed instant coffee
with ginseng and Tongkat Ali as well as frozen "keropok lekor" -- a sausage-like
fish-based delicacy.

"Participating in Gulfood has been an eye-opener for us. We're heartened by
the tremendous response to our products," Mohamed said.


He added that a meeting with the United Arab Emirate's Foreign Trade
Minister, Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, had further spurred interest in exploring
business opportunities with this Gulf nation and the surrounding states.

"Besides expanding our footprint in the domestic market, we feel the need to
spread our wings overseas, in tandem with Malaysia being a prominent
trading nation.

"To develop the state, we have to be part and parcel of the whole
national economic system, including exporting products overseas," said
Mohamed.

Terengganu wants SMEs to contribute 15 per cent to its economy by
2013 from the current four per cent, hence the push to widen the market for
items produced by such businesses.

Mohamed also visited several supermarkets in Dubai to determine the types of
products that may sell well here and elsewhere in the region.

"I saw corn and rambutans being sold in one outlet. We've got a lot
of such produce. I was also told that there's high demand for fish such as the
tilapia. Besides the tilapia, we also have the kelah," he said.

"Terengganu has a whole lot more products.But some need to be
upgraded in terms of presentation and packaging before being marketed," he
observed.

The Terengganu government is also opening up about 100 T'Shoppe stores all
over Malaysia until 2013, as a channel for entrepreneurs in the state to
market their products.

According to Mohamed, the aim is to stock such outlets with 70 per cent of
SME products.

"We're currently at 40 per cent, with sales of such items hovering between
two and four per cent. It's still low.We need to do a lot of things like
promotions, improving packaging and so on," he explained.

Mohamed urged SMEs in Terengganu to show total commitment once they
embarked on certain projects.

"They must know what they want and go all out to achieve their goals.
There's no room for a half-hearted commitment," he said.

He said the state government and its agencies would show unwavering support
to SMEs.

The presence of the Terengganu team at Gulfood 2010 was backed by the
Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE).

Malaysian exhibitors who participated in the trade show at the end of last
month, secured RM7.8 million (US$2.34 million) in confirmed orders as well as
potential sales worth RM32.2 million (US$9.67 million), according to MATRADE'S
Senior Trade Commissioner in Dubai, Dzulkifli Mahmud.

-- BERNAMA