KUALA LUMPUR, July 25 — The sixth edition of Malaysia Fest to be held on July 27 to 30 at Hall 5, Singapore Expo, will be the largest event which is expected to involve 278 entrepreneurs promoting more than 2,000 Malaysian products.

Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority Board (Fama) director-general Abdul Rashid Bahri said among the Malaysian products to be brought to the fest are two tonnes of crystal longan from Sarawak and 10 tonnes of seasonal fruits such as jackfruit, cempedak, mangosteen, rambutan, honey salak, ciku and pamelo, as well as petai (stink beans).

The sale of these fruits will be at one of the components of the Fruit Empire concept exhibition which promotes seasonal and exotic fruits from Malaysia which are in demand in Singapore, he said.

He said the Terengganu, Negeri Sembilan, Penang, Perak, Johor and Kelantan governments are also sending their entrepreneurs to promote the products of their respective states, like Jeruk Madu Pak Ali from Penang and rambutan and dokong vinegar as a substitute for apple vinegar.

"Fama together with the organiser will also for the first time hold a business networking session to match Malaysian entrepreneurs with importers from Singapore involving 13 players in the country’s industry consisting of trade organisations, supermarket operators, restaurants, fashion, logistics and others,” he said in a statement today.

The business networking session will be held at Peridot Room, Max Atria, Singapore Expo.

Abdul Rashid said Fama expects the Malaysia Fest to attract about 120,000 visitors and generate sales worth RM10 million and RM25 million in export.

"We hope that through this program, more Malaysian agro-food products can be marketed in Singapore, thereby making it easier for consumers in the republic to get their supply,” he added.

He said Fama, as the sole marketing agency under the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, would continue with efforts to develop and strengthen the market for the country’s agro-food products in the local and global markets.

Malaysia Fest was previously known as Malaysia Fresh Fruit Fiesta (M3F), It was first held in 2004 and by 2015, had benefited 920 agricultural entrepreneurs and generated cumulative sales of RM28.9 million.

It was rebranded to Malaysia Fest in 2016 and has since benefitted 1,190 Malaysian entrepreneurs and generated a cumulative sales value of RM34.7 million. — Bernama