The Official Portal Of Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation
FRIDAY, 14 OCTOBER 2022, BERLIN: Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) through its office in Frankfurt participated in the BME Symposium organised by the Federal Association of Materials Management, Purchasing and Logistics e.V. (BME). The event, which took place in Berlin, started on 12 October 2022 until 14 October 2022.
During the participation, MATRADE Frankfurt promoted Malaysia’s sectoral strength, particularly in machinery, plastics, rubber, electrical & electronics, and many more. The participation provides MATRADE the opportunity to connect with sourcing communities from all over Germany and several other countries as well as to brand Malaysia in the aspects of sustainability and high innovation. MATRADE’s presence at BME Symposium was also to promote the Malaysia Pavilion at the world’s top plastics and rubber trade fair, KFair 2022 which will take place from the 19 until 26 October 2022 in Dusseldorf, Germany.
According to MATRADE Frankfurt’s Trade Commissioner, “The success of sustainability practices within an organisation will depend even more in the upcoming years on the sourcing units, departments, and Chief Purchasing Officers. Responsible and sustainable procurement will undoubtedly change the game in terms of not just ensuring that the sustainability pledge is kept, but also in the sense of creating a 'meaningful' value proposition for companies.
"Understanding this, we shared with our German counterparts that Malaysia is ramping up its efforts to ensure our industries are aligned with this transformation towards sustainability. There are various policies to champion this such as the National Trade Blueprint 2021-2025,” she added.
Such branding of Malaysia is crucial in Germany as the country will be imposing the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act in January 2023. The Act will mandate that all German companies with more than 3,000 employees be responsible for their entire supply chain. This means they are obligated to ensure their suppliers from all over the world are adhering to human rights and environmental protection.
BME’s Head of BME International, Olaf Holzgrefe shared, “It is important for Malaysian companies to know what are the requirements from January 2023 to be prepared for the demands from your customers in Germany. Southeast Asia and especially Malaysia is an important country for the future development of the supply chain in the Asian market.
”During the first eight months of 2022, trade with Germany grew by 11.2% to RM39.48 billion compared to the same period in 2021. Exports to Germany increased to RM20.05 billion and imports were registered at RM19.43 billion.
MATRADE is Malaysia’s trade promotion agency and has over 46 global offices in major cities around the world. BME is a leading trade association and network partner for those responsible for purchasing, supply chains and logistics in Germany and Europe.
