Myanmar businesses are showcasing their products at THAIFEX – World of Food Asia 2019 expo in Bangkok

17 กรกฎาคม 2562

At the recently held THAIFEX - World of Food Asia 2019 expo in Bangkok, Myanmar pavilions showcasing produce from the country drew quite a bit of interest. A total of 11 Myanmar food firms and one Myanmar hosted buyer participated in the fair this year.

Visitors were drawn to Khaing Kabar Company, which sells chemical-free gum sterculia, commonly used in the production of drugs, cosmetics, car mirrors, smartphone cases, and food such as bird's nests and Korean aloe vera.

Khaing Kabar chief executive officer U La Pyae said the company exports to China, which buys between 400 tonnes and 500 tonnes, and Japan.

“We have started negotiating with South Korea,” he said, adding that Hong Kong could be another potential export destination, with most buyers of the extract coming from the beverage and cosmetic industries.

Myanmar-grown coffee beans and other related products were also on display from Great Ever Top One Company and Genius Company.

Great Ever Top One’s offerings were three-in-one coffee, ginger coffee, pure black, coffee powder and coffee-tea made from coffee pulp and cascara. Daw Shwe Wah Soe, managing director of Great Ever Top One, said interest came from visitors from Romania, the UK, Japan and Taiwan.

She noted that the exhibition “is a good opportunity for the company to learn about new food technology as well as packaging that we can adopt”. Daw Shwe Wah Soe also said that Myanmar small-and-medium enterprises need financial and technological support from the government to help them gain access to the global markets.

Meanwhile, Genius Coffee, already popular in Myanmar, was at THAIFEX – World of Food Asia to look for representatives who can distribute its products in Thailand. Aung Nay Lin Htun, the company that owns the brand, already has branch offices in Cambodia, Canada and Singapore while exporting to 20 other countries including the US and Japan.

Myanmar Golden Produce Company was there to display the country’s “solitaire diamond” mango. Known as “sein ta lone”, these mangoes were displayed in its fresh form as well as dried. “Yin Kwel” mangoes and as well as mango pulp were also on display.

The company’s business development director, Ko Sai Aung Kyaw Simon, said visitors from China and Thailand were interested while exports of primarily dried mangoes and pulp were going to Russia and Singapore.

A pavilion was also set aside for social enterprise Myanmar Sesame Products offering peanut butter, tahini and sesame seasoning, under the name Organic Roots Myanmar, from a farming cooperative in Magwe Region supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit.

Some 600 farmers linked to the Myanmar Sesame Farmers’ Association, including women farmers, produce these goods from sesame. The social enterprise encourages organic farming, aims to provide women with additional income and give these farmers skills in producing quality products.

However, their presence in the exhibition was not to obtain access to export markets but to learn more about these markets as well as inform those interested in Myanmar-grown sesame.

Another Myanmar product that drew interest was Golden Cashew Company, a family-owned company selling Myanmar-grown cashews.

“Compared to Vietnam or other countries which get their cashew nuts from Africa, ours are locally grown and processed. And it’s of superior quality,” claimed Ko Myat Soe, the company’s director.

“We had enquires about our cashew from Japan, Malaysia, the US, and China, he said. "We are trying our best to make sure that Myanmar is a country which will be known in the world for its cashews,” he commented.

“A visitor who was just at our booth told us that she tried the cashews from Vietnam and India, but Myanmar’s cashew was sweeter and richer in taste.”

The exhibition welcomed more than 67,000 visitors and had more than 2,700 exhibitors from around the world and is organised by Thailand’s Department of Trade and Promotion, the Thai Chamber of Commerce and Koelnmesse.

 

(The Myanmar Times: https://www.mmtimes.com/news/myanmar-businesses-showcase-products-thaifex.html )