MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2017, KUALA LUMPUR: In an effort to increase local Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) awareness in export, Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) and Yayasan Amal Maaruf Malaysia (YAAM) joined forces to organise a seminar titled "Exploring International Markets with MATRADE”. The initiative is targeted at addressing their fear to venture overseas by providing insights on exporting.

The seminar offered a platform for the companies to gain insights on market opportunities in global markets particularly in East Asia, ASEAN, Middle East and Africa. The seminar was graced by YB Datuk Ahmad Maslan, Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry, Puan Sharimahton Mat Saleh, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of MATRADE and Tuan Haji Hamsan Omar, President of YAMM.

The event, which took place at Menara MATRADE has gathered 150 participants who are business owners including Bumiputera-owned companies who are keen to start their export venture. Apart from the market opportunities, the companies were given a briefing on the various export promotion and capacity building programmes by MATRADE. The event also featured a briefing on collaboration opportunities with TPM Biotech Sdn Bhd and the introduction of Lesung.my by Food Fiesta (M) Sdn Bhd – a website to promote Malaysian food products.

Currently, SMEs constitute more than 98.5% of businesses registered in Malaysia, however their contribution to Malaysian exports was a mere 18.6 per cent. In the SME Masterplan, the Government hopes to increase this figure to 23 per cent by 2020.

According to Pn. Sharimahton, SMEs are the backbone of the Malaysian economy as they account for 36.6 per cent of Malaysia's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 65.3 per cent of the total workforce. “In moving the nation towards a developed nation status, it is crucial for local SMEs to look beyond Malaysia in expanding their business. Malaysia has a market size of only 33 million people whereas if they were to go into ASEAN or China, they could tap into a market size of 630 million people and 1.4 billion people respectively.”

She added that there are many research and experts citing that the biggest hindrance for SMEs in kickstarting their export is fear. Hence, the awareness programmes such as the seminar held with YAMM is required in ensuring the SMEs who are reluctant to venture into global trade will get better clarity in what exporting is all about and the immense potential it has for them.

In the latest statistics, Malaysia’s total trade surpassed the one trillion mark in January-July 2017, with a value of RM1.008 trillion, expanding by 22.7 per cent from the corresponding period in 2016. This was the fastest period trade breached the one trillion mark, two months earlier than the normal trend.

The expansion was supported mainly by trade with ASEAN, China, the United States of America, the European Union, Japan, India and Taiwan. Exports increased by 22.3 per cent to RM529.68 billion while imports rose by 23 per cent to RM478.71 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of RM50.97 billion.

Exports in July 2017 maintained a steady growth, recording a value of RM78.62 billion, rising by 30.9 per cent compared with a year ago. Exports posted a stronger year-on-year growth than imports for the third straight month. Imports were higher by 21.8 per cent to record RM70.59 billion and total trade has expanded by 26.4 per cent to RM149.21 billion. July’s trade surplus of RM8.03 billion marked the 237th consecutive month of trade surplus for Malaysia since November 1997.

MATRADE as an agency under the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, organises various capacity building programmes and export promotion activities locally and internationally for Malaysian companies. It has 47 international offices around the world and functions as a link to global business for local players.