Shamsul (third right), Norhaini (second right) and other LKM officials seen during the dinner.
KUCHING: There is a need to transform Malaysia into an important competitive cocoa market, according to Deputy Minister of Primary Industries Shamsul Iskandar Md Akin.
He believes that the transformation can help the country’s cocoa market take advantage of the rapidly developing international market.
Representing Minister of Primary Industries Teresa Kok at the Malaysia Cocoa Board (LKM) Appreciation Night held at the Damai Beach Resort on Monday, Shamsul also pointed out that to achieve such target, there is a need to encourage and give priority to more downstream activities in order to make the cocoa industry in the country continue to become competitive.
“I believe all of the current strategies and programmes need improvement in order to enhance all the ecosystem of the downstream activities. This includes many aspects such as marketing, commerce, investment and technical assistance,” he added.
Apart from that, Shamsul also called for research and development (R&D) activities to be intensified to address the issues faced along the country’s cocoa industry value chain by coming up with innovation and technology that can be applied, used and commercialised by the industry.
In 2017, the cocoa sector recorded export earnings of RM5.6 billion and gross domestic product (GDP) of RM1.5 billion.
At the event, Shamsul presented Excellent Service Award to 35 full-time LKM staff and other awards.
This was Shamsul’s first visit to Sarawak as Deputy Minister of Primary Industries.
Others present at the dinner included LKM director-general Datin Norhaini Udin.