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| The Malaysia International Food and Beverage Trade Fair 2008 The food industry in Malaysia has rapidly grown over the years and the Government's aim for Malaysia to be a self sufficient country in terms of food production by year 2010 makes The Malaysia International Food and Beverage Trade Fair 2008 (MIFB 2008) an even more relevant and important platform for the food and beverage industry. Returning for the ninth time to promote the food and beverage industry, MIFB 2008 is aunched by YB Dato' Haji Ahmad Husni Bin Mohamad Hanadzlah, Deputy Minister of International Trade & Industry on November 13, 2007 at the Hilton Petaling Jaya Hotel. The trade fair is scheduled to be held at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC), Kuala Lumpur from July 10 – 12, 2008. Kumpulan Utusan and Expomal International Sdn Bhd, joint organisers of MIFB 2008 in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Agrobased Industry, will present an absolutely focused trade event that showcases the vast potentials of the food and beverage industry. Continuing its success and the theme 'Serving Up a Multi-Billion arketplace' that enforces the size and magnitude of the Billion dollar industry, coupled with the branding of Malaysia's favourite food – the Nasi Lemak, MIFB provides an ideal platform for the food and beverage industry to reach its marketplace regionally. As Malaysia maintains its position as one of the top 20 trading nations in the world with its annual food bill recording RM11.4 billion in exports and touching RM19.9 billion in imports in 2006, Malaysia is poised to be one of the major markets for food producers and suppliers within the Asia Pacific region. This strong sentiment is also reflected in the nation's economic growth forecasted to remain strong at 6% for 2008. In the effort to balance the country's food bill and become a net food exporter by year 2010, the Government has given the agricultural and agro-based sector a significant push where it has set a target of 5.2% annual growth for the sector as a whole. Earmarked as the country's third engine of economic growth, a sum of RM6.5 billion has been allocated to the sector under the Budget 2008 to ensure its growth and wealth creation for the nation, especially for large-scale commercial farming, aquaculture and fishery sub-sectors. Since 2003, Malaysia has been a net exporter of processed food and food related products with increase downstream processing activities, which have also contributed greatly to the expansion of this sector. In Malaysia's aggressive promotion of the agriculture, agro-based industry and the halal food hub, these efforts has also caught the attention of the F&B industry players in the region, making Malaysia an excellent venue to pringboard their ventures into the international market. Coupled with the latest development projects in the Northern Corridor Economic Region and the East Coast Economic Region, Malaysia is set to be developed into a regional agricultural hub. Malaysia's strategic geographical location at the heart of South East Asia equipped with world-class ports also allows investors to reach international markets faster and cheaper, providing efficient gateway to major trading nations. Apart from these, Malaysia also enjoys stable political climate and an escalating multilateral trade relationship with East Asia and major emerging markets such as China and India. Currently, Malaysia is the second largest contributor to intra-ASEAN trade consisting of a 530 million population. Malaysia is also presently the largest trading partner with China and India in ASEAN. Riding on these positive trends and MIFB's long-term reputation, MIFB 2008 expects to showcase more than 400 booths which also include exhibitors from various countries who are involved in food, beverage, agriculture and agro based products. Apart from the participation of local businesses showcasing the very best of Malaysian food products and services, MIFB has registered strong participation from regions including Korea, Philippines, Vietnam, Tunisia, Taiwan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan just to name a few. MIFB is definitely an ideal platform for industry players to launch new roducts, enhance their brand positioning, make face-to-face contact with buyers and consumers, as well as to obtain instant arket feedback. To enhance the value of MIFB 2008, there will be various exciting anchor events being incorporated, such as: 4th Malaysia International Agro-Bio Business Conference 2008, Asia Agriculture Marketplace 2008, Malaysia International Halal Food Hub, World of Fruits, Fruits of the World and Other activities including one-to-one business matching sessions, seminars and workshops, product launches and presentations. Following the growing momentum and interest on Halal food, products and opportunities, MIFB 2008 continues this effort by creating a platform to address the commercial value offered by Halal products as well as identifying the pportunities for food and beverage manufacturers to penetrate this lucrative market. This is also in line with the Government's effort to push Malaysia into the forefront of the International Halal Food arena targeting 5% of the world halal food market valued in the range of USD 350 - 400 billion per annum. MIFB 2008 is endorsed by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, Ministry of Health and is strongly participated in by the Ministry of Entrepreneur & Co-operative Development, Ministry of Rural Development and Cooperatives and the Ministry of Agriculture, China. MIFB has the support of the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI), Marditech Corporation Sdn Bhd, the Small & Medium Enterprise International Cooperation Association of Malaysia, Food and Foodstuff Association Ho Chi Minh, and the Malaysia Selangor & Federal Territory Ku Su Shin Hoong Hung Restaurant Association. write your comments about the article :: © 2008 Exhibition News :: home page |