Everprosper bags award in Germany

Everprosper Food Industries Sdn Bhd, Malaysia's first organic food industry, has bagged the "Best New Product Award 2013" at the Bio Fach 2013 in Nuremburg, Germany.

The event hosted by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements and the German Federation of Organic Food Industry from February 13 to February 15 is one of the world’s
largest annual fair for organic products.

The Malaysian External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) said this year's event saw the participation of 2,400 exhibitors from 83 countries and was visited by more than 50,000 traders and organic food specialists.

Over 100,000 different items, ranging from organic food products to non-food items such as natural cosmetics and eco-textiles, were on display, the national trade promotion agency said in a

statement today.

Everprosper Food Industries chief executive officer Phoon Yih Pyng said his company has been participating in the trade fair for the past five years, promoting varieties of organic noodles and has been the sole Malaysian company among international exhibitors.

He said only companies conferred with an international organic certification are allowed to participate in Bio Fach.

"Organic products manufactured by Everprosper Food Industries are certified by the National Association for Sustainable Agriculture of Australia, the United States Department of Agriculture National Organic Programme and WIT China Organic certification," he added.

The company, a Matrade member since 2002, has been actively participating in Matrade's programmes focused on promoting processed food products such as Anuga in Cologne and Salon
International de l'Alimentation in Paris.

Its current export destinations include China, Singapore, Indonesia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, India, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Germany, Norway, the United States and Canada.

Matrade said German consumers spent US$8.5 billion on organic products last year.

It said organic products' sales rose by almost 10 per cent in 2011, maintaining similar volume last year and are expected to increase this year due to strong consumers' interest to seek healthier alternatives.

Matrade's Trade Commissioner in Frankfurt Jai Shankar Suppayah said export opportunities existed for niche Malaysian organic produce in Germany, particularly organic tea, vegetables and fruits.

He, however, said Malaysian exporters must conform to market requirements, principally the requisite for organic certification and to produce according to European organic food standards, which can prove challenging as it involves traceability and supply chain integrity.

"Malaysian organic food exporters also need to develop right branding to ensure German consumers are ready to pay premium price for such products," he added.

Malaysian organic products' producers and exporters, who are interested to know more about the comprehensive rules in exporting organic products into european markets, can contact Matrade's office in Frankfurt.-- Bernama