MATRADE to Push for An Increase in Malaysia's Food Exports to The United States

By Manik Mehta KUALA LUMPUR, June 22 (Bernama) -- There is good potential to increase the export of Malaysia’s food products to the United States and the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade)will be directing its efforts towards this. Its Deputy Chief Executive Officer Zakaria Kamarudin is currently visiting New York to evaluate the impact of the ongoing Malaysia Restaurant Week (MRW). He told Bernama in an interview that response to the seven-day MRW which began on June 18, was good and not only from Asians, but also Americans. "The MRW has the participation of 26 restaurants of which 18 are Malaysian. "I talked to the Asian and American customers at the restaurants, and they simply loved the food, which they found to be authentic and different from that served in other restaurants. "Since we started the Malaysian Kitchen Programme three years ago, we are told by the participating restaurants that sales had increased by 20 per cent. "We created a higher visibility by launching last year the MRW. We introduced food trucks, launched cookery books and participated in the night market at the Lucky Rice Festival in Brooklyn, among others. "Our guiding slogan in these promotional endeavours is, 'to bring Malaysian food into every home'. American consumers should eat Malaysian food not only in restaurants but also prepare it at home. "By popularising Malaysian food, we expect American consumers to buy more Malaysian spices, food ingredients and other processed and non-processed food products," Zakaria said in explaining Matrade’s strategy. Malaysian food products are generally marketed through Asian supermarkets. But as more and more mainstream supermarkets put Asian food products on their shelves, the country's chances of increasing food exports also looks bright. Malaysia’s processed food exports have shown a steady increase in recent years. Exports touched US$631 million in 2011, up 7.1 per cent over 2010. "Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg. There is huge untapped potential which we want to turn to our advantage," he said. Matrade’s New York office has over the years built up a network of contacts among importers, distributors, agents, restaurants and even food specialists connected with Asian cuisine. Matrade also participates in a number of food trade fairs such as the Fancy Food Show held in Washington this year. "We also invite buyers to shows in Malaysia, such as the Intrade. On the other hand, we also bring business missions from Malaysia to the United States and undertake business matching sessions between the local and US buyers," Zakaria said. -- BERNAMA