Cocoa product exports to hit RM4.5billion this year
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's semi-finished and finished cocoa products exports are expected to be worth RM4.5 billion this year, Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Tan Sri Bernard Dompok said.
"We expect a gain of about RM300 million from RM4.2 billion last year," he said.
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Dompok, however, said the performance of semi-finished and finished cocoa products will depend on the current economic performance.
He was speaking to reporters yesterday after the official opening of the International Cocoa, Coffee and Consumer Show 2011 (I3CS).
"We are not importing raw materials (cocoa beans) from foreign countries, instead we produce it here before exporting it to neighbouring countries," he said.
Dompok said local cocoa products such as cocoa butter, cocoa powder and cocoa paste as well as chocolates and cocoa-based confectionaries are exported to over 80 countries.
Among the major markets for the local cocoa products are the US, Europe, China and Southeast Asian countries.
Malaysia is no longer the main producer of cocoa beans but the country has been ranked as the largest cocoa grinder in the Asia-Pacific region and the fifth biggest grinder in the world after Germany, the US, Ivory Coast and the Netherlands, Dompok said.
"The Malaysian cocoa industry had indeed demonstrated a successful transformation of the Malaysian commodity sector from a mere traditional producer of raw materials to an exporter of higher value-added products," he added.
I3CS is to develop the related industries, and helps local entrepreneurs and main players in the industries to explore the business opportunities for locally or even for the international stage.
The three-day event is expected to attract more than 60,000 visitors.
SMEs will form about 90 per cent of the exhibitors, occupying 30,450 sq m of the exhibition space at the Mid Valley Exhibition Centre here. The event incorporates other similar exhibitions such as International Confectionery and Bakery Show.
In 2010, the export earnings from the commodity sector increased 24 per cent to RM113 billion from RM91 billion in the previous year.
"This was mainly due to high prices of commodities and the increased demand in major markets, among others from the US, Japan, Europe, China, India and Asean countries," Dompok said.
"We expect a gain of about RM300 million from RM4.2 billion last year," he said.
He was speaking to reporters yesterday after the official opening of the International Cocoa, Coffee and Consumer Show 2011 (I3CS).
"We are not importing raw materials (cocoa beans) from foreign countries, instead we produce it here before exporting it to neighbouring countries," he said.
Dompok said local cocoa products such as cocoa butter, cocoa powder and cocoa paste as well as chocolates and cocoa-based confectionaries are exported to over 80 countries.
Among the major markets for the local cocoa products are the US, Europe, China and Southeast Asian countries.
Malaysia is no longer the main producer of cocoa beans but the country has been ranked as the largest cocoa grinder in the Asia-Pacific region and the fifth biggest grinder in the world after Germany, the US, Ivory Coast and the Netherlands, Dompok said.
"The Malaysian cocoa industry had indeed demonstrated a successful transformation of the Malaysian commodity sector from a mere traditional producer of raw materials to an exporter of higher value-added products," he added.
I3CS is to develop the related industries, and helps local entrepreneurs and main players in the industries to explore the business opportunities for locally or even for the international stage.
The three-day event is expected to attract more than 60,000 visitors.
SMEs will form about 90 per cent of the exhibitors, occupying 30,450 sq m of the exhibition space at the Mid Valley Exhibition Centre here. The event incorporates other similar exhibitions such as International Confectionery and Bakery Show.
In 2010, the export earnings from the commodity sector increased 24 per cent to RM113 billion from RM91 billion in the previous year.
"This was mainly due to high prices of commodities and the increased demand in major markets, among others from the US, Japan, Europe, China, India and Asean countries," Dompok said.
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