Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2018 KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) organised a mission to Melbourne to promote the Malaysian fashion industry as it saw a huge opportunity for Malaysian companies to expand in the market. This is reflective from the increment of Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of Malaysia’s fashion products exports to Australia by 6.27 per cent between 2013 to 2017 indicating a greater acceptance for Malaysian fashion products in Australia.

The mission called Export Acceleration Mission (EAM) on Fashion Industry to Australia started from 18 and will end on 24 November 2018. The EAM takes place in conjunction with the International Sourcing Expo Australia (ISEA) 2018 in Melbourne, which is a premier sourcing platform for apparels, textiles, footwear, leather and fashion accessories.

According to Mr. Abu Bakar Yusof, Director of Lifestyle and Life Sciences at MATRADE, the mission aims to match Malaysian companies with key Australian industry stakeholders and buyers. “This mission is part of with MATRADE's strategy to accelerate the exports of key sectors within the fashion industry namely textiles, apparels and footwear,” said Abu Bakar.

“Initiative such as this is timely as the Australian fashion market is currently valued at US$20 billion. During this event, 11 participating Malaysian companies will be matched with over 200 Australian buyers. This EAM also offers the opportunities for Malaysian companies to connect with buyers from other neighbouring countries such as New Zealand,” he added.

The Malaysian participants will also be going through a series of networking sessions with the Australian Fashion Council (AFC), Australia-Malaysia Business Council (AMBC), School of Fashion & Textiles RMIT University, Australian Fashion Marketer and Malaysia in Business Melbourne (MIBM) to create a greater engagement with Australia’s key industry influencers and decision makers.

Apart from the pre-arranged business meetings, Malaysian companies will also attend the Global Business Seminars during the expo and market visits to Australian leading fashion boutiques such as “Fitzroy Fashion & Art Centre” and “Chapel Street Fashion Capital”.