Thailand - Malaysia and Thailand should work together on halal food processing to maximise their advantages on both sides of the border, the president of the World Halal Forum Khairy Jamaluddin said yesterday. Mr Khairy, who brought a 30-member delegation to Thailand, said there remained tremendous opportunities in terms of capacity expansion and industrial cooperation for the development of the halal food industry.
Both governments were considering incentives to encourage investment on both sides of the border.
The Malaysian state of Perlis, for example, was urging its private sector to take the halal business to a new level.
In Thailand, Pattani province was doing the same thing.
‘‘We think Thailand can provide raw materials, while Malaysia can offer expertise in processing and packaging.
‘‘It‘s a matter of a supply chain from initial producers to end users,‘‘ said Mr Khairy, who is a son-in-law of Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi.
He said Malaysia was looking forward to promoting the free flow of capital and creating a good investment environment for the industry.
‘‘Now some small examples are taking place, like goat breeding in the southern provinces of Thailand.
‘‘This will supply meat to the northern provinces of Malaysia.
‘‘Larger-scale investment could also be expected as Pattani is developing incentives for halal livestock while in Perlis, Padang Besar has cold storage facilities which can complement this,‘‘ he said.
Mr Khairy also noted the security concerns in the strife-torn region.
‘‘They have to check on the ground situation but I believe things are under control and I am optimistic that the current political environment can even offer more security,‘‘ he said.
Mr Khairy is also vice president of the youth wing of the United Malays National Organisation.
He said UMNO wholeheartedly supports the Thai and Malay governments‘ measures aready in place that have strengthened cooperation in areas including business and education.
Deputy Foreign Minister Sawanit Kongsiri said Thailand also had plans to promote halal investment in other southern provinces that have been free of separatist violence, such as Satun, Krabi, Surat Thani and some areas of Songkhla.
Source: www.bangkokpost.com (11 September 2007)