Malaysia and Saudi Arabia have enjoyed warm and friendly bilateral ties through commercial and cultural links for decades. This cordial relationship has paved the way for both countries to embark on various collaborations across many industries.
In 2021, Saudi Arabia was Malaysia’s second-largest trading partner and the largest
source of imports among West Asian countries and Malaysia is keen to continue to
forge stronger economic partnerships to serve common interests, namely in the food
and agricultural sector. Malaysia’s manufactured food and beverages exports to
Saudi Arabia that year amounted to USD 179.3 million, with products ranging from
processed food, edible oils, food ingredients and beverages.
Leveraging on this growth, the National Trade Promotion Agency of Malaysia,
MATRADE via the Commercial Section of the Consulate General of Malaysia in
Jeddah is featuring a month-long promotional campaign entitled ‘Marhaba Malaysia’,
beginning from 15 September 2022 to 15 October 2022 to highlight several
established brands and products from Malaysia through an online and in-store
promotion activity that is hosted at Sarawat Superstores, one of the leading retailer
and a well-known location in this region to source for specialty food items and
ingredients.
“This campaign would facilitate in further positioning Malaysia as a supplier and
producer of quality food products and ingredients, and we are taking this opportunity
to share this with the Saudi consumers. Through our bilateral economic ties, the
Kingdom could also be the hub for Malaysia to support Saudi’s growing food
manufacturing industry”, said Faizalkhan Jaafar Trade Commissioner Jeddah during
the campaign’s introduction session.
The campaign, conducted in collaboration with Tourism Malaysia and the Malaysian
Palm Oil Council (MPOC) will facilitate in promoting Malaysia as a trade and travel
destination, while at the same time allowing Saudi consumers to obtain favourable
deals on Malaysian food items such as confectioneries, savoury snacks, coconutbased products and ready-to-eat meals. Other high demand products featured
includes palm oil, food ingredients and instant beverages.
“We observed that the growth of online e-commerce platforms in this region has
helped to ease the purchase of food products for consumers in this region, hence we
have added an online component to the Marhaba Malaysia campaign as part of
MATRADE’s eBizlink programme to intensify Malaysia’s export digitally”, he added.
The shift in consumer behaviour towards gut health and food safety is demonstrated
in the rising purchase of naturally healthy food, and retailers worldwide are adjusting
to add healthier food products in their portfolio.
“Apart from its known health benefits, one of the qualities of palm oil is that it is
stable at high temperature and retains the natural flavour of the food making it
suitable for household and industrial cooking”, MPOC said in a statement to spread
awareness and encourage purchase among Saudi consumers. MPOC showcased a
live-cooking demonstration and food sampling activities to also promote sustainable
palm oil as part of its ‘Palm Oil Full of Goodness’ campaign.
Malaysian Consul General in Jeddah, His Excellency ‘Alauddin Mohd Nor who was
present at the session highlighted on the sound relations between the two countries,
and hoped that this campaign would expand commerce and tourism activities.
Taking advantage of the amicable relationship and the distinctive link between food
and travel, Tourism Malaysia through the Cultural Section of the Consulate General
of Malaysia in Jeddah distributed information and shared on new travel products to
highlight unique wonders and cultures of Malaysia to attract Saudi consumers.
Marhaba Malaysia will run from 15 September to 28 September 2022 with weekend
activities and the online component will commence for a period of one month starting
15 September to 15 October 2022 through Sarawat’s social media platform, with
special deals to mark Malaysia Day on 16 September 2022 and Saudi National Day
on 23 September 2022 respectively.
