Wong lauds local food industry’s desire to compete globally

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Wong (second right) with Yen Xiang Bird Nests Sdn Bhd director Datuk Seri Ho Kim Hee (right) and others during his recent visit.

KUCHING: The food industry in Sarawak has been lauded for continuously striving to ensure their products are of international standards.

Minister of International Trade and E-Commerce Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh said today’s young entrepreneurs – regardless whether they inherited the family business or set up their own – are now transforming their business with the aim of competing in the global market.

“Today’s enterprises have to adhere to stringent requirements in terms of hygiene and production towards ensuring product quality and assurance.

“They have to be proactive in bringing about transformation to their business with the ultimate aim of competing globally,” he said following recent visits to two local food enterprises here – Yen Xiang Bird Nests Sdn Bhd and Stampin Confectionary Sdn Bhd.

The two companies, he added, have played a role in boosting his confidence in local food industry players.

It is learnt that Stampin Confectionary is presently distributing its products across Sarawak while working on coming up with a unique local product to go global.

Yen Xiang Bird Nests is said to be a rising player in the bird nest industry, with a high-quality sales room as well as a world-class-standard room for manual picking of bird nests.

Its end products are described as all-natural without any chemical elements.

These two enterprises are ready to bring their products into China where investors have been showing keen interest in the state’s local food products.

Towards this end, they hope to collaborate with Wong’s ministry to take part in more international food exhibitions, with the aim of introducing their products to the world.

In this respect, Wong encouraged them to always be prepared for future challenges besides keeping abreast of the latest global standards, namely in product management and packaging.

He said their products had to meet certain level of standards apart from having a ‘one-of-a-kind’ attribute.

If such criteria are met, he believed that they will have the opportunity to promote and market their products to the world.