From Halal Foods To Nuclear Power, Potential For Long-term Ties Seen For Canada, Malaysia

By Nur Athirah Mohd Shaharuddin and Mikhail Raj Abdullah

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 30 (Bernama) – Agrifood commodities, halal foods, and clean energy such as nuclear power, are sectors that could provide vast opportunities for long-term business ties between Canada and ASEAN countries like Malaysia.

Jeff Nankivell, the president and chief executive officer of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, stated that there is significant potential in terms of exports, imports, and finished food products. It also includes the sale of Canadian inputs that go into the supply chains for manufactured food products, he told Bernama in an interview recently.

APF Canada is an independent, not-for-profit organisation that is focused on Canada’s relations with Asia and whose mission is to be Canada’s catalyst for engagement with Asia and Asia’s bridge to Canada.

Nankivell cited the availability of various protein sources from Canada, including innovative plant protein sources, which could find markets in the manufacturing of snacks and packaged foods in Asia, as well as in niche areas such as pet food.

He noted that in the halal sector, Canada is not only keen to import halal foods in view of the growing Muslim population due to immigration, but also in certification. This has created some scale in halal markets in major cities such as Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal, where there is huge demand for halal beef and poultry products.

“There is also a huge opportunity in poultry. Canadian suppliers are willing to invest in physical plant requirements and services essential to obtaining halal certification, as they see the opportunity for scale.

“So that is absolutely a key part of the potential gap that we see now for certain markets in Southeast Asia and also elsewhere in the world, including in India and in the Middle East,” he said.

Nankivell reiterated that there are abundant opportunities for Southeast Asian companies to invest in liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects. This is more so as Canada has expertise in reactor technology and building the ecosystem for nuclear power projects.

To develop the ecosystem, Nankivell said Canadian universities and colleges are training thousands of nuclear industry workers, scientists, and engineers every year. He said this ties in neatly with Southeast Asian countries, “which have a new interest in exploring the possibilities to grow nuclear power generation capacity.”

“There’s a window of opportunity for both sides to establish long-term trading relationships,” he noted.

-- BERNAMA