By Nur Natasha Aida Ismail
CHIBA, (Tokyo-Japan) Oct 12 (Bernama) -- The initiative ‘Local To Global Retails Products of Local Entrepreneurs’ introduced by the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) is to support Malaysian products in the international market by penetrating large supermarket chains that have retail branches abroad.
KPDN secretary-general Datuk Seri Mohd Sayuthi Bakar said this approach was used in the ‘Malaysia Fair - Taste of Malaysia’ programme held at six AEON Co (M) Bhd branches around Tokyo in Japan.
“This approach is under the Buy Malaysian Goods Campaign (KBBM) where we use an international retail platform under the control of our ministry and we use it to bring local products that are already in the AEON Co (M) Bhd Supermarket outlets.
“Based on our experience, from various trade fairs to bring out products to be marketed abroad held by various ministries is difficult in terms of marketing. With the help of retailers, especially AEON, we can identify the type of product and help entrepreneurs of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) provide products that suit the needs of the market,” he said.
He said this to Bernama after launching the ‘Malaysia Exhibition Programme - Citarasa Malaysia’ at AEON Makuhari New City here today.
Also present were AEON Co (M) Bhd managing director Naoya Okada, AEON Co (M) Bhd chairman Datuk Iskandar Sarudin, AEON Retail Japan director and executive management officer Yoshiro Hamaguchi and Malaysian Embassy in Japan deputy chief representative Anwar Udzir.
Commenting further, Mohd Sayuthi said that through the initiative, the market for MSME products is more secure and thus hopefully can increase their sales.
“Apart from a certain product, we also want to see the market potential for new products, we have already seen that (Japanese) people are more fond of fruits, so we will liaise with the Ministry of Agriculture (Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security) to discuss what kind of fruit products can be promoted through this Local to Global Retail platform.
“For this year, four countries are involved in the implementation of the Local To Global Retails initiative, namely the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Japan, Thailand and China... in Thailand we will work with Lotus," he said.
Meanwhile, Mohd Sayuthi said the halal element was also highlighted through the ‘Malaysia Fair - Taste of Malaysia’ programme to encourage more MSME entrepreneurs to obtain halal certificates for their products.
“It means that we don't want the product to be only for the Japanese market, but it is a two-pronged approach where at the same time, any tourist or resident who works here who is Muslim, can buy the halal goods that we bring in.
“We see that the Japanese are already aware about ‘halal’ so they want to provide halal products to meet the needs of Muslims, however our challenge is how do we explain to them that halal is not only for Muslims but it is the best option even if you are not Muslim,” he said.
Earlier, Naoya in his speech during the inauguration said this programme positioned as an important step in further strengthening exchanges and mutual cooperation between the ministry (KPDN) and AEON Malaysia.
“The government’s policy of enhancing halal export trade and related industries is one that we hope to tackle with determination not only at AEON Malaysia but also by maximising the synergy of the AEON Group.
“It is not only a matter of quickly identifying the ever-accelerating demand for halal food products and meeting market needs but also exploring and building on the potential of each other’s cultures and business with the common goal and we believe this will lead to future goals,” he said.
In addition to AEON Mall Makuhari, the ‘Malaysia Fair - Taste of Malaysia’ programme was also held at AEON Mall Kasai; AEON Mall Minamisuna, AEON Mall Style Shinonome, AEON Mall Style Himonya, AEON Mall Narita starting yesterday until Oct 14 and the ‘Malaysia Fair - Taste of Malaysia’ programme was also held in conjunction with the 40th anniversary of AEON Malaysia.
-- BERNAMA
