MATRADE NEW YORK “ENCOURAGED” BY SIGNS OF US ECONOMIC REVIVAL

From Manik Mehta

NEW YORK, Jan 31 (Bernama) -- After the dismal 2009 recession-plagued year when demand for Malaysia’s electronic and electrical products plummeted, the business climate is warming up for Malaysia’s exports to the United States.

This is the perception of the New York-based Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) Trade Commissioner, Wan Lattif Wan Musa, who says he is “encouraged” by signs that clearly suggest an economic revival in the United States.

Juggling with figures, Wan Lattif said Malaysia’s exports to the United States between January and December posted a 13 per cent growth in 2010 over 2009.

Malaysia’s imports from the United States from January to November 2010 also jumped 35 per cent than in 2009.

In absolute terms, Malaysia’s exports in January and November last year amounted to US$23.8 billion while its imports from the US touched US$12.7 billion. The US is Malaysia’s fourth biggest market after Singapore, China and Japan.

The crucial point for Malaysia is to reach and surpass the pre-crisis 2008 export level to the US.

Wan Lattif said Malaysia’s exports of electronic and electrical products -- these products are the mainstay of Malaysia’s exports to the US -- rose in 2010.

“I am encouraged by that indicator (the rise in E&E exports),” he told Bernama in his office at Malaysia’s permanent mission building.

“E&E exports significantly declined in 2009, the crisis year, but we saw an upward surge last year. Our E&E exports are rising although our other exports to the US such as rubber products, food products and optical products did well even in the crisis year,” he said.

The Malaysian trade commissioner expects recovery to continue and demand for E&E products will increase in the current year.

“This will strengthen our exports and, hopefully, will enable us to reach the pre-crisis level soon,” he said.

But Wan Lattif also expressed concern over the high unemployment in the US, now lodged at 9.6 per cent.

This, invariably, led to belt tightening by US consumers who were inclined to spend less with no jobs to sustain their livelihood.

“We heard in President Obama’s recent state-of-the-nation address, stating that the focus would be on job creation. I am convinced that the US economy will rebound this year.

"We heard after the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics’ Show that there will be greater demand for mobile computing which, in turn, will generate greater demand for electronic parts and demands. That would be good news for Malaysian exporters,” he observed. Malaysia is also keen to increase food products exports.

Matrade’s New York office campaigned last year to create awareness about the Malaysian cuisine through its so-called “Malaysian kitchen programme” aimed at promoting Malaysia’s food product exports and ingredients.

“Our aim is to supply US consumers with Malaysian food products in
supermarkets.

We're trying to introduce Malaysian food products in mainstream retail outlets though we had successfully worked in the past with Asian ethnic retail outlets on the east coast. We are now moving into mainstream segments,” Wan Lattif said.

The Matrade office in New York is also planning to repeat in 2011 some of the events organised last year such as participating in night markets, highlighting Malaysian food products and dishes in the course of Malaysian restaurant week and holding events in supermarkets in New York and New Jersey.

Wan Lattif said a major event lined up for Malaysian food exporters was the forthcoming Boston International Sea Food Show from March 20 to 22.

A contingent of Malaysian seafood exhibitors will participate at the Boston show and Matrade will be organising business meetings for them with US importers.

This will be followed in June by a visit of a Malaysian food mission which will be in Chicago to hold business meetings with buyers in the Midwest region.


Another lucrative area of business is renewable energy. Malaysia is already manufacturers of solar panels.

“We want to work with manufacturers and become part of the supply chain of the US industry,” Wan Lattif said.

But because of the evolutionary nature of supply and demand, Malaysia will also need to focus on new products and sectors.

Apparently inspired by the success of Matrade’s Frankfurt office, which helped crack open the lucrative European aerospace market for the Malaysia-based Strand Aerospace of Cyberjaya which was contracted by a first-tier German company to supply structural designs for aircraft manufacturer, Airbus, Wan Lattif said he would be making a pitch to the US aerospace companies.

“We are in the process of identifying the companies supplying to the US aircraft manufacturing companies,” he said.

Wan Lattif said Matrade has been talking to the Washington-based US-Asean Business Council.

“We hope to identify and talk to suppliers of aircraft parts and components. Indeed, Boeing has been using components and parts made in Malaysia and we want to pursue this further,” he added.