Kota Kinabalu: Sabah’s small and medium enterprises are exploring opportunities provided by the Hainan Free Trade Port in China.
SME Sabah president Dr Deledda Tan, who led a 16-member delegation from the association, said the recent visit to Hainan aimed to explore cross-border business collaboration and market access for local entrepreneurs.
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“We want to explore the potential for fostering partnerships and business matching opportunities,” said Tan, who together with her delegation held a meeting with the Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese Hainan Province led by its secretary-general Li Cheng.
“We want to see how our SMEs can collaborate with businesses in Hainan, especially now that it is a free trade zone.
“We also want to find out what products from Sabah could potentially be introduced to Hainan,” she said.
At the same time, she said SME Sabah is helping to play a facilitating role for business operators who are keen to invest in Sabah.
Based on feedback, she said Sabah’s durian and edible bird’s nest have strong potential as these two products are highly sought after in China.
“Many buyers from China and Taiwan are already coming to Sabah to look for bird’s nest,” she said.
She explained that Sabah’s bird’s nest industry has an advantage because a large portion of the supply comes from birdhouses rather than from caves.
“This means our supply is more stable. We know exactly the volume we can supply,” she said.
Durian, on the other hand, also has strong potential, although production in Sabah is still limited compared with Peninsular Malaysia, where supply is more abundant, she added.
“Hainan has also planted its own durian, but the taste is less fragrant because of the soil and weather conditions, which is why many of their supplies still come from Malaysia,” she said.
Tan noted that Sabah durian could also be processed into value-added products such as durian paste, dried durian and confectionery.
“These products can be supplied as raw materials to make by-products before being distributed to other parts of China through the free trade system in Hainan,” she said.
She added that Sabah’s seafood industry could also benefit from the growing demand in China.
“With the limited variety of seafood supply in China, Sabah has the potential to supply more seafood products,” she said.
“The most important thing about this visit is to build connections and explore opportunities,” she said.
