KUCHING: Around 300 entrepreneurs will be participating in the “Sarawak Timber and SME’s Expo” which will take place from June 27 to 30 at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK).
Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation (Pusaka) general manager Hashim Bojet revealed this during an exclusive interview with New Sarawak Tribune and its sister paper Suara Sarawak at his office in Wisma Sumber Alam here yesterday.
He said entrepreneurs from Indonesia, Brunei and Sabah would be among the participants.
The expo will be highlighting three main components, namely acacia-based products, bamboo-based products and the capability of SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) to be active in the local industries for export.
“Visitors will witness how we can produce acacia-based products from our forest plantations into valuable assets such as furniture for export.
“At the same time, the expo will be a platform for the local entrepreneurs to compete with any other brands which produce similar acacia-based products such as from Vietnam.
“We will show that we can also produce international standard products because we are not lacking in terms of materials or production technology. Thus, we have the ability to compete at the international level,” he said.
“With that being said, this is our time to utilise the strategy by giving our products a brand title which could represent wood products from Sarawak.”
Hashim urged Sarawakians to visit the expo which would showcase exhibitions and sales of local products.
“With this platform and the support from the community, the main players in the industry will be motivated to be actively involved in marketing local products in both the domestic and international markets,” he said.
This year’s Sarawak Timber and SMEs Expo is the fourth annual event.
On April 24, Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan told a press conference that this year’s expo would attract more than 15,000 visitors. He also believed that the expo would be able to generate direct cash sales of around RM7 million.
