Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Datuk Seri Panglima Madius Tangau said as Malaysia was not one of the world’s agro-food top exporters, one of the best ways to move into this sector was to focus on the premium product segment and explore new market frontiers. But in order to penetrate, succeed and sustain in a niche segment such as premium food, exporters need appropriate technologies in all stages of the supply chain, Madius said.
“With appropriate ICT technologies, we can add value to our product, gain higher premium and protect our businesses from the onslaught of more dominant market players,” he said.
The minister said his ministry through its agencies was ready to assist the private sector in the export of premium food by infusing technology into the supply chain, with the Musang King durian to start with.
On July 19, 2016, Madius launched the MyTrace, an advanced product traceability system. The system was developed by MOSTI agencies; namely MIMOS, which developed the technology platform, the National Institutes of Biotechnology Malaysia (NIBM) which provided biotechnology-based DNA marker for authenticity verification of the premium durian, and the Department of Standards Malaysia, which established the traceability procedure standards for Malaysian agro-food exports; in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture as regulatory body for phytosanitary certification, and the Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (FAMA), which established the process as well as implemented the e-commerce platform.
MyTrace integrates the Internet of Things (IoT) and Big Data Analytics (BDA), which are current game changers for agriculture. The minister said that by integrating these emerging technologies into the product value chain, the export of Malaysian premium agro-food can present a business model with high market potential. The application of IoT and BDA technologies will strengthen the logistics process of premium product exports and provide a solution to the counterfeiting of premium Malaysian agro-products.
“I look forward to seeing more export products to use MyTrace as de facto standard,” the minister said.
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