SARIKEI: Agri-commodity players here have been urged to embrace innovation and value-added processing to turn their produce into higher-value products and tap wider market opportunities.
Deputy Minister of Plantation and Commodities, Datuk Seri Huang Tiong Sii, said technological advancements and changing market demands were creating new opportunities for industry players to boost productivity and competitiveness.
“Advancements in technology, production methods and market demands are opening up new opportunities for entrepreneurs to increase productivity and produce higher-value products,” he said.
He said this when speaking at the Sarikei Zone MADANI Agri-Commodity Carnival at Dewan Sentral Sarikei on Friday (Aug 14).
Huang, the Sarikei MP, said increasing the value of agriculture commodity products depended not only on production volume but also on the ability of entrepreneurs to manage, process and develop their produce into more competitive products.
He said changing consumer demand patterns needed to be taken into consideration to ensure commodity products were aligned with market needs and could command better commercial value.
“Entrepreneurs should also look at downstream activities as one of the approaches to diversify their sources of income, particularly through the production of finished products from existing commodity-based materials,” he said.
He said the carnival’s activities also demonstrated how technology and appropriate production methods could open up opportunities for new product development.
“For example, the oil palm mechanisation and chocolate-making demonstrations at this programme show how the use of technology and appropriate production processes can create opportunities for developing new products,” he said.
Huang said such exposure was important in enhancing public understanding of the agri-commodity sector and the opportunities it offered, particularly to the younger generation.
He said greater youth participation should be encouraged as their skills, creative ideas and ability to utilise technology could help introduce new approaches to the industry.
“Sarikei has good potential to further develop its agri-commodity sector based on community participation in commodity-related activities and the market opportunities available,” he said.
Huang also called for stronger collaboration among smallholders, entrepreneurs, youths and relevant agencies to ensure the continued development of the sector.
He said such cooperation would help ensure the sector continued to benefit the community while contributing to local economic growth.
