‘Not impossible for ‘manok pansoh’ to penetrate international market’

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SIBU: It may not be a distant future when popular local delicacy ‘manok pansuh’ (chicken in bamboo shoots) makes it into the international market.

Not discounting the possibility, Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Jacob Dungau Sagan said the delicacy would have to undergo a product development process before it can be exported.

“If you can develop ‘manok pansuh’ through proper packaging, labelling, branding, promotion and where the product can be kept in a fridge then there is a possibility that the local delicacy can be marketed internationally over time,” Sagan told The Borneo Post recently.

He was asked the possibility of the ‘manok pansuh’ reaching the international front.

When asked the main obstacles facing micro or village level entrepreneurs, he singled out the lack of exposure and know-how to market their products.

“They have a lot of products at village level like ‘Dabai’ which have yet to be developed to a stage where they can be produced at commercial level to be marketed in supermarkets among others. This requires lots of innovation and initiatives to undertake.”

He figured the village entrepreneurs might not have the required technology to develop their products to such a stage.

“This is where the ‘Groom Big’ programme plays a vital role to provide aspiring local entrepreneurs with the know-how and at the same time to link them to the relevant agencies,” he explained.

Sagan, who is also Baram MP, pointed out that many local products were of high quality and expressed confident that some would make it to the export market in time to come.

He reiterated the call for local entrepreneurs to take advantage of the programme to increase their know-how in marketing their products. Earlier, he said the programme was in line with the New Economic Model envisaged by the government to transform Malaysia into a developed nation come 2020.

“Some 80 per cent of micro Bumiputera entrepreneurs having joined the ‘Groom Big’ programme achieved between 10 and 50 per cent jump in sales.

“And seven per cent registered a sales increase of over 50 per cent. This is based on the monitoring and research done by Sirim,” Sagan said.