PUTRAJAYA, May 4 — The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (KPKM) and the Asean Business Advisory Council (Asean-BAC) have discussed opportunities to provide a broader market space in the agriculture and food security sector in the Asean region through the council platform.
The KPKM said the matter was discussed by Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu and Asean-BAC Malaysia chairman Tan Sri Nazir Razak when he received a courtesy call from the delegation at his office here yesterday.
The discussion with the delegation, which was also joined by Asean-BAC Malaysia (Agriculture) chairman Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, also touched on technical cooperation in agricultural research and development and technology transfer for food security.
“They also discussed methods of addressing food decline issues, food waste and increasing productivity in the agro-food sector,” the KPKM said in a statement today.
The KPKM said the ministry had asked Asean-BAC Malaysia to assist and facilitate the exploration of Asean markets by Malaysian agro-food entrepreneurs.
“In addition, Mohamad also stressed the importance of agro-food entrepreneurs to delve into the best practices among the Asean nations to enhance the competitiveness and resilience of the agro-food sector, like what neighbouring countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam have done,” it added.
The KPKM said Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Datuk Arthur Joseph Kurup, who also joined in the discussion, highlighted the need to boost Malaysia’s exports to Asean countries and work towards achieving a better trade balance in the agro-food sector.
At the meeting, the KPKM said Mohamad also invited the Asean-BAC Malaysia delegation to participate in the 2024 Malaysia Agriculture, Horticulture & Agrotourism (Maha 2024) from September 11-22.
“He (Mohamad) welcomed the participation of business entities or the private sector in the biennial event,” it added.
The ministry said the invitation was well-received by Nazir, who suggested that KPKM optimise MAHA as a strategic platform to strengthen business networking by private entities within the country and at the Asean level. — Bernama
