Matrade to grow interest for products in Chile, Argentina and Brazil

KUCHING: Malaysia External Trade Corporation, (Matrade) will take part in a Trade and Investment Mission (TIM) to Chile, Argentina, and Brazil from May 20 to 24, 2019 along with Ministry of International Trade & Industry and its other agencies as an effort to boost the awareness of Malaysia’s capabilities in various sectors.

The TIM will be led by the Minister of International Trade and Industry, Datuk Darell Leiking.

Eight Malaysian companies in the areas of Agro Industry, Electrical & Electronics (E&E), Information and Communication Technology, Automotive as well as Services will be joining the mission.

Matrade, through its office in Santiago, Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo, will be matching these companies with potential buyers or partners from the Latin American countries involved in the mission.

According to Matrade chief executive officer Dato’ Wan Latiff Wan Musa, Malaysian companies are set to benefit from the strategic bilateral trade partnership platforms that have been established with Chile, Argentina and Brazil.

“This mission will boost Malaysia’s relevance in these markets and support Malaysian exporters’ efforts to actively promote their products and services,” Wan Latiff said.

Apart from the business matching, a series of roundtable sessions and joint meetings are planned involving company representatives as well as leaders from various Chambers of Commerce.

This is intended to activate an engaging, long-term dialogue between Malaysian exporters and groups of buyers from these countries.

“It is vital for Malaysian exporters to seize this opportunity with the rapidly growing markets of Chile, Argentina and Brazil. Our trade offices in Santiago, Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo have leveraged on their networks to build strong relationships with industry and enterprise communities in these markets.

This foothold in Chile, Argentina and Brazil for our exporters will also open up opportunities for them to further exploit the larger Latin America market,” Wan Latiff further added.

Chile, Argentina and Brazil are among Malaysia’s largest trading partners in Latin America, with Brazil being the largest.

“Matrade is actively developing a long-term initiative to build on the growing trade opportunities in Latin America for Malaysian companies. This is also consistent with the Governments strategic focus on South-South Cooperation which remains an important goal for Malaysia striving for a more equitable and balanced road map for the global economy,” Wan Latiff shared.

Total trade with Chile in 2018 was at RM1.32 billion (US$0.33 billion). This figure has increased 150 per cent over the 2009 trade value.

Malaysia’s exports to Chile meanwhile grew by a whopping 352.17 per cent within the same period to reach RM0.81 billion (US$0.20 billion) in 2018.

Major exports to Chile were chemicals and chemical product, rubber products, wood products while major imports from Chile were metalliferous ores and metal scrap, Seafood, fresh, chilled or frozen, paper and pulp products.

As for Argentina, Malaysia’s trade with the nation grew by over 178.66 per cent within 10 years with total trade in 2018 at RM5.39 billion (US$1.34 billion) compared to RM2.66 billion (US$0.75 billion) in 2009.

Exports alone increased by 123.91 per cent from 2009 to RM3.6 billion, mainly contributed by rubber products, E&E products, petroleum products.

Major imports from Argentina were animal feed and leather and articles of leather, cereals and other vegetable oil.

Lastly, the trade between Malaysia and Brazil grew by over 208 per cent within 10 years with total trade in 2018 at RM11.57 billion (US$2.87 billion) compared to RM5.54 billion (US$1.58 billion) in 2009.

Exports to Brazil increased by 162.5 per cent from 2009 to RM3.6 billion, mainly contributed by E&E products, rubber products and chemicals and chemical products.

Major imports from Brazil were metalliferous ores, processed food and petroleum products.