News From : DagangHalal.com (24 Oct 2009)
Bandar Seri Begawan – Progress has teen made on the Brunei Halal Brand and agriculture in Brunei at the 6th China-Asean Expo, as more people are showing interest in the Sultanate, said Abdul Latif Sani, Senior Livestock Husbandry Officer of the Brunei Halal Development Division, Department of Agriculture, MIPR.
“There are quite a number of Aims, not only from Nanning but outside Nanning too. They are asking about how we can work together on a cooperation basis. One man was interested in exporting his products to Brunei, and then from Brunei he was thinking of exporting to the nearby region. He is aware that our population is very small, but he doesn’t mind because he can see that Brunei can be a stepping stone for him to export his halal products, and he was asking how the halal products would be received in Brunei, so I explained to him that the agriculture department doesn’t issue any certification of halalness, but that it is under the jurisdiction of the Religious Council. He said he is willing to work with Brunei authorities.
“On the agriculture side, most import and export agencies are looking into Brunei as a potential market. Other than goods, they are also trying to cooperate on the usage of the technology in farming as well, so I welcomed them.
“My advice was to come to Brunei, see the country, look at the people in terms of consumers, what they consume, what type of goods, plus most of our food source is from outside Brunei. So another facility is that they can supply us with the raw materials, and they can operate in Brunei itself
“The response is good, because they are aware of Brunei now. They know what the population is. The previous year they didn’t know where Brunei is. This shows that from our previous year, our mission is effective, showing where Brunei is Knowing that we have created awareness to what Brunei is, what Brunei is doing, it’s like a jumpstart for them; how they an cooperate and how they can work with Brunei on technology, on food production and cooperation in other areas as well.
“I am thinking, next year, in terms of Brunei Halal Brand, of bringing the products and holding an investment seminar and telling the visitors we are ready to accept their products to be included in the Brunei Halal initiatives”.
They will produce for us, then we will do the packaging under our Brunei Halal packaging. We will then market their products globally in the halal market.
“In agriculture, we can probably work more on the technology side, because they are more advanced in the usage of farming technology and machinery.”– Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin