Malaysian Corporates Need Tap Into Madagascar's Huge Potential -- MATRADE

By Zarul Effendi Razali KUALA LUMPUR, March 26 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian businesses and investors need to tap into tremendous investment and export opportunities offered by Madagascar, an island country in the Indian Ocean, said the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE). The government has already initiated a bilateral relation initiative through the padi cultivation, said Rusiah Mohamed, director of construction and business services section and export promotion and market access division of MATRADE. Under the bilateral ties, she said Malaysia could provide the technology in terms of how to increase padi yield as rice is Madagascar’s staple food. “We have the expertise in terms of technology and machinery in padi cultivation. On the top of that, we are also good at construction and professional services, as well as ICT (information and communication technology), waste management and renewable energy where we can collaborate with them,” she told Bernama. Rusiah said Madagascar’s market is still new to Malaysia and it is hardly heard of by most Malaysians until recently. “The fact that we now have the platform in the form of the Madagascar-Malaysia Business Council (MMBC), which will be setting up their office here, is a good avenue for them (Malagasy companies) to create contact and awareness of the Madagascar’s market among Malaysian companies. “All this while, they said that they have been under the French influence (in terms of investment and trading) and now they are trying to change their provider, rather than getting everything from France, but also from other countries as well and they see Malaysia as one of the potential partners to trade with,” she said. Currently, only about 20 per cent of Madagascar’s total area of 587,041 square kilometres is populated by 28 million people, signalling the vast, remaining areas than can be developed in various industries. MMBC chairman Dr Abdul Kabur Ibrahim, who will be leading a Malaysia trade mission to Madagascar in June, said the delegation would focus on two areas. “We will be looking at the presidential projects, as well as the export opportunities of Malaysian products to Madagascar, particularly healthcare, food-related, palm oil and palm oil-based, rubber-based, and other commodity-related products. “We are also looking at the export market for small and agricultural machinery. So, we hope to have more participation from our businesses in our mission,” he said. He said the aim of the mission is to develop a direct trade link in the exports of Malaysian products as they were currently imported by Madagascar through Europe, resulting in the products fetching higher prices. “If you were to walk into any supermarket (in Madagascar), you can see a lot of Malaysian products but they come through Europe. The products, which originated from Malaysia, were packed by European companies, hence, the prices are roughly three times higher,” he added. MMBC vice-chairman Johary Christian Rasoarahona said currently, about 20-30 per cent of the products in Madagascar originated from Malaysia, mostly in the commodity and medical segments, but were imported through Europe. “Rubber gloves, syringes, and other medical and commodity products sold in Madagascar are mostly from Malaysia and the prices are marked up by 10 cents up to US$1 dollar a piece. That's why we are looking for a direct trade route. “The people of Madagascar consume a lot of Malaysian products and they don't even know that the goods come from Malaysia. Since they are buying so much Malaysian products, we are trying to tell them that what they are consuming are not worth the prices they are paying for,” he said. -- BERNAMA