Belgium to Export More Frozen Potatoes to Malaysia

Belgium hopes to ship more frozen potato fries to Malaysia via its marketing campaign and collaboration with restaurateurs and fast-food operators here.

"We're seeking to promote Belgian fries which are already consumed to the amount of 10,000 tons per year," said Belgapom secretary general Romain Cools, according to nst.com.my.

"Malaysia is a fast growing market for Belgian potatoes," he told reporters at a media conference at the Food & Hotel Malaysia 2017, event taking place September 26-29, in Kuala Lumpur.

Belgapom's participation in the Food & Hotel Malaysia 2017 is part of a five-nation promotion campaign in Southeast Asia coordinated by Belgium's Flanders' Agricultural Marketing Board.

Among exhibitors at the Belgian Fries Pavilion are Agristo, Bart's Potato Company, Clarebout Potatoes, Ecofrost and Mydibel. They represent the five biggest family-owned businesses in Belgium offering a wide range of halal-certified frozen potato products and specialties.

"This is the coming out year for Belgian fries in Southeast Asia and we see good opportunities to collaborate with restaurateurs here," said Cools.

"Already, Belgium is the world's biggest potato exporter shipping out 4.4 million tons last year. As we continue to improve on our farming yields, we hope to achieve 5 million tons in exports by 2020," he added.

Cools said Malaysia ranks 11th among the biggest buyers of Belgian potatoes. Last year, Malaysia spent EUR64.5m on 65,718 tons of imported potato fries, of which 9,689 tons were from Belgium.

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