Improve product quality to gain global competitive edge — Sim

SHANGHAI: Malaysian companies need to improve the quality of their products and services to enable them to enhance their competitiveness and make inroads into the global market, especially China, and become corporate giants.

Deputy Agriculture and Agrobased Industry Minister Sim Tze Tzin said the quality and branding of Malaysian products, including that of the agricultural industry, would have to be on par with world's renowned brands, in order for them to be competitive.

“We have a lot of good quality agricultural products but consumers still remember world's famous brands even in our country. Malaysia has yet to reach a certain level of branding.

“We need to work harder and quickly to upgrade our products to international standards,” he told Bernama after visiting Malaysian booths at the China International Import Expo 2018 (CIIE), here yesterday.

Sim said the CIIE is the best platform for Malaysian companies to showcase their products, technologies and services, besides becoming a passage to the vast Chinese market, as well as the international arena.

“This exhibition focuses only on international products and there is no Chinese products at all. So, they (China) are opening a tremendous platform for every participating country to penetrate their market.

“At the same time, there's a lot of international companies and buyers coming here to look for export products... So, Malaysian companies could also widen their market to another country, not only China,” he said.

Meanwhile, Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation Chief Executive Officer Dr Mohd Shahreen Madros said there were great economic potentials up for grabs for Malaysian businesses besides the food and beverage industry, hence, the need to leverage the opportunities.

He said for instance, technologies and medical tourism were among the opportunities that could be explored as the sectors were showing promising growth in the Chinese market.