SUNDAY, 25 NOVEMBER 2018, KUALA LUMPUR: The recent participation in MEDICA 2018 in Dusseldorf, Germany bore good results with export potential valued at RM 257.74 million, an increase of 24.4 per cent as compared to 2016, recorded. The mission was organised by Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation’s (MATRADE) from 12th to 15th November 2018.

The event was participated by 10 Malaysian companies and the initiative was MATRADE’s 6th involvement in the premier healthcare trade event in the European Union (EU) since 2012. The companies at the event represented various medical devices sectors such as diagnostic and test kits, sanitisers and disinfectants, medical graph paper, innovative sheath contraceptives, as well as medical components.

Malaysia’s exports of Medical Device reached historic heights at RM 19.78 billion in 2017, up 24.9 per cent compared to 2016. At a pro-rated growth rate, MATRADE expects the exports of Medical Devices to break the RM 20 billion mark by end of 2018. For the first nine months of 2018, exports of Medical Devices to Europe reached RM 5.2 billion, a 12.9 per cent percent increase from the same period last year.

According to Mr. Abu Bakar Yusof, Director of Lifestyle and Life Sciences of MATRADE, “Such increase is partly attributed to our participation in world’s large-scale events such as Arab Health and MEDICA. MEDICA for instance has more than 5,000 exhibitors with over 120,000 visitors, in a region where its healthcare expenditure is expected to reach RM 530 billion by 2020. For MATRADE, we believe our presence in such exhibition will elevate Malaysia’s Medical Device sector and enable our companies to grow further within the years to come. During the event, strong interests in Malaysian Medical Devices were seen from various European countries.”

During the event, Welford Manufacturing Sdn Bhd – a Malaysian Medical device manufacturer of catheters and infusion sets – secured a Sales Agreement with a United Kingdom-based medical device distributor for the supplies of infusion sets worth RM 33 million over a 5-year period.

Mr. LC Wong from Welford stated that “The Sales Agreement was signed after several months of negotiations, thanks to MATRADE assistance through both its headquarters and London’s office in helping us identify the right partner. Since receiving assistance and guidance from MATRADE this year, we have been able to double our exports of infusion sets and expanded our market to the likes of United Kingdom, Poland and Italy. We are currently in talks with new buyers from South America after participating in MATRADE’s trade mission to the region in October. We hope that we will be able to continue to work with MATRADE closely to expand our business further within the coming years.”

During the mission, MATRADE has also received an award from Top Glove Corporation Berhad that recognises MATRADE’s role in helping the company grow globally. Top Glove is currently one of the world’s top rubber glove producers. The award was given by Top Glove’s Executive Chairman Tan Sri Dr. Lim Wee Chai during the company’s appreciation dinner in Dusseldorf.