MKP spurs more M’sian restraunts in China

BEIJING: The Malaysia Kitchen Programme (MKP)initiated by the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade), has spurred more Malaysian restaurant outlets in China.

Currently, there are nearly 50 Malaysian restaurants registered with the MKP in China, including 18 in Beijing, 26 in Shanghai, five in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, and two in Dalian.

The growth in the number of Beijing restaurants from 10 to 18 was mainly from 2010 to this year, said Matrade Senior Trade Commissioner cum Commercial Counsellor, Abu Bakar Yusof.

“This is a big increase. Some of the restaurant owners plan to open another four to five outlets in Beijing and other cities next year,” he told Bernama here.

The MKP was mooted by the government in 2006 under the Ninth Malaysia Plan (2006-2010), with the key objective of branding Malaysia through its cuisine.

It also aims to increase exports of processed food, food ingredients and agriculture produce and to attract tourists to Malaysia.

Matrade took over the programme in late 2009.The MKP was officially introduced in China in 2011.

Abu Bakar said Beijing has nearly 20 million inhabitants, Shanghai at over 23 million and approximately seven million people living within Dalian, the financial centre of Northeast China.

Hence, he added, there are a lot of prospects towards promoting Malaysian cuisine.

In terms of revenue, he said from 2009 to 2012, more than half of all Malaysian restaurants in Beijing recorded an increase in sales of between 10 to 15 per cent.

Some even recorded a 55 per cent increase during the same period.

Abu Bakar cited a restaurant in Dalian, which opened in November last year, recording 122 per cent increase in sales in just one year.

Revenue grew from RMB 90,000 (about RM43,731) per month to RMB200,000 (about RM 97,180), he said.

In Beijing, he said a restaurant saw encouraging growth in terms of patronage, registering about a 40 per cent growth from 5000 customers per month in 2010, to 7000 this year.

Meanwhile, to promote Malaysian food and beverage (FandB) products in China, Abu Bakar said Matrade has been cooperating with Parkson Retail Group by undertaking a “distributor programme”.

Parkson has its own FandB supplier for its 50 outlets in the whole of China.

Besides Parkson, he said Matrade was also working with a local Chinese retailer, the Jia Hui Group, which has 57 outlets in Hebei province.

He said between 2009 to 2011, the import of Malaysian FandB products in China registered an encouraging growth of 107.5 per cent, from US$306.54 million in 2009 to US$388.71 million.

“Chinese purchasing power is strong. The demand for imported food and the emphasis on quality is among the factors that have made demand for Malaysian FandB products rise in China,” Abu Bakar said.

On plans for next year, he revealed that Matrade intends to undertake a TV programme or documentary series to promote Malaysian cuisine and delicacies, akin to the popular, “A Bite of China”.

He said Matrade planned to appoint a Malaysian artiste as the MKP ambassador in China. — BERNAMA