Malaysia’s soft export to grow by five pct this year — Miti

KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of International Trade and Industry Ministry (MITI) expects Malaysia’s soft exports to grow by five per cent this year, from the RM37.65 billion recorded in 2016.

Deputy Minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan said the target was in line with the current robust growth of the the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and upward momentum of the industry.

Soft exports are exports of lifestyle products, including gifts and premiums, which have been gaining momentum in recent years and estimated to be worth about RM1 billion to date.

“Exports of gifts and premiums posted the second highest growth at 4.4 per cent, valued at RM5.79 billion, and were mainly exported to Singapore, Japan, the United States, Thailand and Hong Kong,” he told reporters at the launch of the Malaysia Gifts Fair 2017 here, yesterday.

Ahmad said Malaysia had a large pool of talented lifestyle entrepreneurs, capable of moving onto the international stage.

“As such, the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) is aggressively helping and supporting these entrepreneurs to promote their products globally,” he added.

He said MATRADE conducts various programmes for entrepreneurs, including seminars and workshops, as well as “going export” (Go-Ex) programmes for exporters. — Bernama