Sabah exporters urged: Register with Matrade
Published on: Friday, July 29, 2016
Kota Kinabalu: The Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) wants more Sabah-based exporting companies to register with it for assistance and benefits as the external trade promotion arm of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Miti).Its Sabah Director A. Rashid Mohd Zain revealed that "out of some 17,000 companies registered with Matrade, only 230 companies are from Sabah". He was addressing a workshop on "12 Essential Steps to Successful Exporting" conducted by AB Teoh, co-organised with the Kota Kinabalu Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KKCCCI) at the chamber's auditorium on Wednesday.
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It was attended by about 80 people.The topics included export potential, export readiness, product and target market, marketing research, export business plan, sales and marketing, market entry strategies and distribution channels, legal matters, export pricing, export orders, INCOTERMS 2010, shipping and documentation, and money matters."The objective of this workshop provides participants with an understanding of the systematic key activities involved in the export process and to enable participants to analyse, evaluate and make the right decisions in exporting and international trade."Participants have benefited from the workshop learning the functions of the various shipping documentations, and the export procedures and compliances and also to enhance awareness among the local business community about export opportunities as well as to develop their export marketing skills.
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"Entrepreneurs are encouraged to attend this programme and learned the skills and knowledge in exploring the export market as well as the various financial schemes available in the market," Rashid said, adding that Matrade is bringing some 30 buyers from Indonesia and the Philippines to visit the Sabah International Exhibition (SIE) 2016 to be held in September.KKCCCI Director of Commerce & Industry, Andy C.K Lim, in his address said:
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"The small and medium industries (SMEs) in Sabah have been identified as having the most potential in the country, and the Federal government will focus to further develop the SMEs in the State."This workshop and trade talk is a very good start for both Matrade and KKCCCI marking a new era of collaboration and cooperation between KKCCCI and government-related agencies to provide a series of business-related promotional activities."It is a very encouraging initiative for sharing the resources with the government related agencies, which will benefit our members and business community."We hope that with the incoming seminars and talks would help our members to make our local companies to be more competitive in the globalised market," Lim said. According to KKCCCI Executive Secretary Tan Kar Beng, membership has increased from less than 500 to more than a thousand under the leadership of Datuk Michael Lui.Teoh, who is also the author of 'Exporting and International Trade', said that first time Sabah food exporter should try exporting to Brunei first as it is possible to drive across to the country."Every time I talk about shipping, Sabahans get angry until smoke comes out, and since the Cabotage policy cannot be rid of, I suggest you look at countries nearer to Sabah like Australia and China."When I look at TPP and Vietnam, I get worried as Vietnam is very competitive, and their costs of production are low. However, if Donald Trump wins the US presidential election, he said he won't sign the TPPA, unless Hillary Clinton wins, there's a possibility."Teoh said exporting to Asean countries requires familiarity with Form D, a "diplomatic passport" to enter Asean countries with no duty or preferential duty rates under Afta (Asean Free Trade Agreement) whereby Malaysian exporters must register with Miti to establish the COO (Certificate Of Origin) for their products."You should be concentrating on what you do best, based on your business plan. Pricing is the top priority in the four 'P's of marketing mix as the only 'P' that generates revenue. "Other 'P's incur costs and expenses – Product, Place and Promotion. Learn to get it right the first time by doing your homework with market research and information assessment on how many layers there are with their profit margins on logistics, distribution and retail players."Know your targeted market. Sell the unique selling preposition of your shortlisted products for export. What is your niche market? Export potential is not equal to readiness to export. "Use sites like Alibaba to promote your products worldwide cheaply. If you can't tell, you can't sell. Get payment first before exporting to risky countries or parties."Teoh cautioned pitfalls in export business plan like no realistic goals, failure to anticipate obstacles, no commitment, lack of business or technical experience, and no market niche.Exporting is only one of the five market entry strategies of a non-foreign direct investment business marketing plan. The others are licensing, franchising, turnkey contract for large projects and management contracts, like for hotels. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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