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By Shikin Louis
KUCHING, July 1: Although Sarawak only has a population of less than three million, it is possible for her to emulate Scandinavian countries to produce global food brands such as Nestlé.
Premier of Sarawak Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said the most developed countries in Europe that are also based on agriculture are the Scandinavian countries, including Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Norway.
“If you look at these countries, you just pick one company that has been very successful on a global scale—Nestlé, which is a company that gives value to all the raw materials in the agro-industry.
“And then they go downstream so much so Nestlé becomes a global brand, and its contribution to global growth is huge,” he said when attending a Majlis Ngiling Bidai of Gawai Dayak hosted by the Ministry of Food Industry, Commodity and Regional Development (M-FICORD) held in Jalan Bako today.
He further said the average population of the Scandinavian countries are roughly five million, and they mainly ventured into the fish and food industry.
“Sarawak’s population will be roughly three million by 2030, but it has ample landmass.
“Thus, what we are doing at the moment is exploring new industries and, at the same time, upgrading the basic infrastructures such as roads for market access, electricity, and water supply.
“By 2025, I think we more or less have covered this huge infrastructure with the budget that we have based on the State fund. We have to be bold enough to spend money on our basic infrastructure and access, which will give us ample space to develop our food industry,” he added.
He noted that the development of the food industry is tasked under M-FICORD, which also includes commodities such as sago and pepper with a potential extension to the production of cocoa and coffee in the future.
Amongst those present were Abang Johari’s wife, Puan Sri Datuk Amar Juma’ani Tuanku Bujang; Deputy Premiers Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas and Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian; Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUN) Speaker Tan Sri Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar and wife Puan Sri Fatimah Mohamad Iskandar; Minister of Food Industry, Commodity and Regional Development Dato Sri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom and wife Datin Sri Loreta Sawot; Deputy Minister of Food Industry, Commodity and Regional Development (Food Industry) Datuk Dr Abdul Rahman Ismail; and Deputy Minister of Food Industry, Commodity and Regional Development (Commodity & Regional Development) Maclaine @ Martin Ben. — DayakDaily
