By Amanda L
KUCHING, June 23: Sarawak’s traditional tuak (rice wine) must achieve consistent quality standards similar to internationally recognised wines if it is to compete in the global market, says Sarawak Minister of Food Industry, Commodity and Regional Development (M-FICORD) Dato Sri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom.
According to him, one of the main challenges facing the local beverage is the lack of uniformity in taste and quality, with tuak produced by different brewers often varying significantly in flavour.
“When you go to Australia, the wine produced there already meets global standards. It is accepted worldwide and ready for export.
“But our tuak remains just tuak. Every longhouse or function I attend, it never has the same quality.
“Some are sweet, some are bitter, and some are sour. Quality control is where it all begins,” he said.
He said this during his speech at the Sarawak Ministry of Food Industry, Commodity, and Regional Development (M-FICORD) Gala Dinner and Innovation Awards Ceremony 2026 held here today.
Dr Rundi said improving quality control is essential if Sarawak hopes to commercialise and position tuak as a marketable agro-based product beyond local consumption.
He stressed that innovation and research must play a key role in elevating traditional products including tuak into commercially viable commodities.
In this regard, he called on research officers (ROs) to produce outcomes that can be commercialised and used to support global market positioning.
“I want to see our ROs come out with research findings that can be commercialised and used for our global marketing efforts,” he said.
He stressed quality improvement must be driven by results and continuous innovation if Sarawak’s traditional products are to compete internationally.
At the same event, the Innovation Awards 2026 ceremony saw the Sarawak Department of Agriculture’s (DOA) Swift Revival clinch first place with a cash prize of RM1,500, followed by the Sarawak Department of Veterinary Services’ (DVSS) Lab Rangers 2.0 in second place (RM1,300) and DVETS 2.0 in third place (RM1,000). — DayakDaily
