Kelantan plans frozen halal food processing hub

KOTA BARU, MALAYSIA: Kelantan plans to go big in the processing of frozen halal food by creating a hub to tap local and overseas markets.

The State Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) has been allocated RM17mil to ensure the growth of the industry starting with six manufacturers at the Pengkalan Chepa Industrial Zone.

SEDC general manager Wan Yahya Wan Salleh said the manufacturers were involved in producing sandwiches, curry puffs, murtabak and doughnuts.

He said one of the firms, Mix Green (M) Sdn Bhd, had secured an order of five containers worth of potato chips to the British market. Each container is worth RM30,000.

Wan Yahya was speaking to reporters after a tour of the facilities in the zone.

He said SEDC's concept was to establish cottage industries while the corporation provides marketing and distribution strategies.

Another facility, to be built in Mulim Apam in Pasir Mas, would be the main distribution and export arm for the frozen food produced in Pengkalan Chepa.

Eventually, the concept would see ventures into the preparation of frozen halal meat.

The world frozen halal food market is estimated to be about RM5bil per year.

"There is also a huge demand for domestic consumption, particularly in the Klang Valley, where most of the frozen halal food would be distributed," he said.

MalaysiaKitchen Promoters Eyeing UAE Market

MalaysiaKitchen Promoters Eyeing UAE Market


By Muin Abdul Majid

DUBAI, Nov 14 (Bernama) -- Following the establishment of Malaysian restaurants under the MalaysiaKitchen programme in Tokyo and London, its promoters are now eyeing the possibility of opening a similar outlet in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

"We're looking for Malaysians here, perhaps those already having some experience in operating a restaurant here, with a view to establishing a joint venture with them," said Perbadanan Nasional Berhad (PNS) business planning division head Shamsudin Amir.

As an agency under the Entrepreneur and Cooperative Development Ministry and a franchise-led entity in the country, PNS, through its investment arm Malaysia International Franchise Sdn Bhd, takes charge of developing the franchise system for the development of MalaysiaKitchen restaurants, franchises and brands worldwide.

Alluding to the MalaysiaKitchen initiative, Shamsudin said: "It's quite new. Hopefully, we can have more such restaurants."

"Our immediate target is the United States but we're also eyeing the Middle East region," he told Bernama on the sidelines of the Halal World Expo 2008 which concluded Thursday in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi.

According to him, the programme basically provided an opportunity for people to become entrepreneurs.

"But the most important thing is to get someone to run the restaurant because we can't do it ourselves. Basically we can facilitate, we can provide the capital and other incentives," he said.

Shamsudin said it would be good to open a MalaysiaKitchen restaurant in the UAE as there was demand for Malaysian cuisine in the country.

A national initiative by the government of Malaysia, the MalaysiaKitchen programme aims to strategically position Malaysian agricultural produce and agro-based products through the setting up of a strategic network of Malaysian restaurants and retail outlets abroad.

The Malaysian delegation comprising 10 companies and cooperatives as well as officials to the three-day halal show in Abu Dhabi was led by the ministry's secretary-general, Datuk Musa Muhamad.