News From : DagangHalal.com (23 Sep 2010)
HATYAI, Sept 23 (Bernama) — Malaysian entrepreneurs, especially in the halal industry, should consider investing in southern Thailand if they are looking at higher production, says IMT-GT Joint Business Council Malaysia Chairman, Datuk Faudzi Naim Noh.
He said players in the sector would be able to take advantage of the mass production of abundant raw materials in the region and this would give them the edge when competing in the global market.
Malaysian entrepreneurs are facing many problems such as getting land and raw materials and in order to meet the demand from their clients, many of them import the raw materials from southern Thailand at a cheaper price, he said.
“Thailand has proven track record in mass production of food products. Malaysia on the other side, produces less but its halal products are more acceptable in the global market and has the advantages in terms of recognition and accreditation.”
Against this backdrop, Malaysia would be able to depend on Thailand for the raw materials and both the countries can complement each other in this sector, he told Bernama at the sidelines of the Business Forum at the Lima Dasar (Five Policies) Summit here Thursday.
The Business Forum was participated by members of the business chambers of commerce from five Southern Thai provinces namely Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala, Satun and Songkhla, and the business representatives from five states in Malaysia namely Kedah, Perlis, Perak, Kelantan and Penang.
The meeting was chaired by the Committee on the Southern Economic Development Area Chairman, Sirichai Pithicharoen, for Thailand while Faudzi represented Malaysia.
Faudzi said today’s meeting identified five key areas for economic cooperation which are halal industry, education, tourism, logistics and investment.
However, the halal industry was a main discussion at the forum where Thailand, like Malaysia, has been preparing to be a halal hub by the creation of several Halal Industrial Zones.
The opportunities are plenty here, he said, adding that local businessmen should also change their thinking where they would have to think in terms of international market.
He said while Malaysia and Thailand had good cooperation through Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT GT) and the Joint Development Strategic Malaysia Thailand (JDS) but he believed the Lima Dasar, which focuses more on cooperation between the private sectors of both countries, can complement IMT GT and JDS.
The two-day summit started today with the business forum. It was initiated by Thailand Ministry of Commerce with the support of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry of Malaysia.
— BERNAMA