KOTA BHARU, Jan 31 — Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof has called on the country's kenaf industry to seize opportunities in the international market in line with market demands and current economic conditions.
Fadillah, who is also the Minister of Plantation and Commodities, said that the effort would enable Malaysia's kenaf products to be among the best in the global market.
"The potential of the kenaf industry is huge and I am confident that the kenaf industry in Malaysia has the potential to grow successfully and move forward to achieve encouraging results.
"(There should be) continuous transformation in an effort to ensure the kenaf industry is in line with the development of Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR 4.0)," he said.
He was speaking at the launching ceremony of the National Kenaf and Tobacco Board's (LKTN) Strategic Plan 2021-2025 and the Kenaf Growers, Industry and Innovation Awards 2021, here yesterday.
Commenting further, Fadillah said kenaf had great potential to be developed as one of the new sustainable economic sources for the country.
"Kenaf-based products have unique and environmentally friendly characteristics and have been identified as capable of providing high economic value in the construction, automotive, bio-composite and health industries.
"The ministry, through LKTN, will also increase efforts towards the commercialisation of kenaf, especially Research and Development (R&D) activities," he said.
Meanwhile, he said the National Kenaf and Tobacco Board Strategic Plan 2021-2025 which was launched is LKTN’s long-term planning document, which includes strategies, action plans, indicators and targets for the next five years in line with the National Agricommodity Policy 2021-2030 (DAKN 2030) to achieve the specified output and results.
"Seven Strategic Cores comprising Sustainability, Productivity, Value Generation, Market Development, Inclusion, Licensing and Enforcement as well as Effective Service Delivery will help LKTN carry out the tasks it has been entrusted with and deal with the resulting challenges," he said.
— Bernama
