Malaysia focuses on quality and design

HAVING EARNED a top 20 spot
on the World Trade Organisation’s
list of trading partners based
on volume, Malaysia is focusing
on the aggressive promotion of
its local manufactured goods of
quality.
“We are not selling products
just to sell,” says Trade
Commissioner Mansor Shah
Wahid of the Gauteng-based
Malaysia Trade Centre. “We focus
on quality and design.”
Targeting non-saturated
markets has been key to
Malaysia’s growing success
in global markets and South
Africa is no different. Careful
market analysis highlights
market opportunities – and
this led to the introduction of
Proton vehicles in 2005. “It’s
all a process of educating the
manufacturers in Malaysia on
the needs in the South African
market.”
Malaysia’s chief exports
to South Africa are palm oil,
electronics, chemicals and
machinery, all products churned
out on the back of a strong
manufacturing economy.
Malaysia’s manufacturers have
had to adapt many of their food
products for the South African
markets. The juice here, for
example, is more concentrated,
whereas in Malaysia it is not as
strong. “It’s the kind of educating
we need to do.
“South Africa is not our
traditional trading partner, so we
need to educate our exporters on
the rules and regulations in South
Africa.
Similar multicultural consumer
markets exist in both countries,
with many synergies in the
variety of consumer products on
supermarket shelves. Malaysia
is also emerging as a major
exporter of Halaal-endorsed
products, especially in the
cosmetic and medicine sectors.