Opportunity to export Sabah seafood to China
KOTA KINABALU: The landsea-air transportation network of Chengdu, China offers an excellent opportunity for Sabah to export its seafood to China.
This was revealed at the ‘Promotions Meeting on the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor’ organised by the Chengdu Provincial Government.
A group of 20 SME Association of Sabah members led by president N K Foo, attended the meeting held in conjunction with a business matching session with the Asean electrical and electronics vendors at ChinaASEAN Expo held in Nanning, China, on Sunday morning.
Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport is an international aviation hub connecting western China with the world and the fourth largest aviation hub in China, with routes reaching to the five continents.
In 2018, the passengers exceeded 53 million, and the central and western regions became the first member of the global ‘airport club of 50 million’.
In view of Chengdu’s excellent air connectivity live seafood imported from Asean are air-flown to Chengdu and coupled with their efficient customs clearance can be in the restaurants within half a day.
This offers an excellent window for Sabah to export her live seafood to the China market after Chengdu starts its direct flights to Kota Kinabalu in the near future.
Sabah can also export her tropical fruits to Chengdu when the direct flight is operational.
Chengdu’s population of over 20 million and her GDP of US$231 billion in 2018 represents a huge market for Sabah’s seafood and agro produce.
More than 20 memorandums of understanding between Chengdu businesses and ASEAN entrepreneurs were signed during the meeting.
The SME Sabah group also visited the Malaysian Pavilion to give support to 17 exporters from Sabah.
Malaysian Pavillon was packed with visitors who loved Malaysian food and drinks, especially the various brands of coffee, cocoa, chocolate, biscuits, ice-cream and snack food.