THE 119 Brunei companies that will be taking part in the upcoming 14th China-Asean Expo (CAEXPO) will be setting up their booths for the next two days in preparation for the launching of the commodity pavilion by His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam on September 12, 2017.
Opportunities for business matching and benchmarking of products is one of the main highlights of CAEXPO which is certainly true for some of the local Brunei companies.
Sarinahayati binti Haji Mohd Taib, the founder of Sweet as Sara – a specialised dessert food and beverage company, shared that she is looking to test the waters in China with her frozen Pistachio Ondeh Ondeh cake. “I think it is important for us (Brunei companies) to go abroad and seek out what the potential opportunities are,” she said.
Sarinahayati is looking to gain feedback from a Chinese and Asean audience and hopeful of garnering interest for supply or expansion.
Another food and beverage company producing honey from wild bees is looking to introduce its product to the Chinese market Maanggaris Honey, founded by Firdaus bin Sapli. “We have brought some 200 bottles of the rarest honey from Brunei, which is wild and found naturally in our jungles,” said Firdaus.
“We target to sell out these bottles, and from there, hopefully garner interest that can lead to some business matching. We want our wild honey to be exported abroad.”
Meanwhile, second generation farmer Yong, founder of Pertanian Tropikal Utama, is looking to debut Brunei’s first commercialised home-grown coffee which he is targeting as a premium export product.
“I have been working on this project for about five to six years now. We planted the first batch of coffee trees in Labi in 2012, and now we have about 10,000 trees in 10 hectares.
“We run the entire production from growing to harvesting to roasting and then finally packaging the product to be ready for the consumer to taste,” Yong said.
Aside from offering an opportunity to showcase Brunei as a tourist destination as well as its products and services, CAEXPO has also provided a platform for large-scale foreign investment between Brunei and China.
This includes the establishment of the Brunei-Guangxi Economic Corridor (BGEC) based on an agreement signed in 2014 to establishes a strategic supply chain link between Brunei and Guangxi and covers investments into manufacturing and export from both countries, especially those focusing on the Halal market as well as upgrading logistics.
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