CHOCOLATE PRODUCERS URGED TO LOOK AT INDONESIA

By Wan Nor Azura Mior Abdul Aziz

PEKANBARU (Indonesia), Feb 16 - Chocolate producers in Malaysia have been
urged to grab opportunities to enter the market in PekanBaru, here in the
province of Riau, Indonesia.

Assistant Officer (Economic Affairs) with the Malaysian Cocoa Board, Abdul
Karim Che Hamid, said a study here have found that there was very little
marketing of chocolate products in the region.

"In PekanBaru, we checked out several supermarkets here and found a very
small number of chocolate products and very little choices," he said.

Abdul Karim spoke to Bernama in PekanBaru recently during an exposition
organised by the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle.

He said PekanBaru, with a population of more than three million, offered
bright prospects for marketing food products.

He said the Cocoa Board was also doing its part to help entrepreneurs keen
to venture into the chocolate industry.

"We will guide the entrepreneurs with basic chocolate making courses and
following that, we will also offer the basic entrepreneurship courses. After
that, we will be providing the advance courses," he said.

Among other incentives offered by the board include opportunities to
participate in expositions held in the country as well as in overseas.

More than 100 Malay entrepreneurs involved in various businesses and
services were in PekanBaru recently to look into ways of expanding their market
and business network covering the entire Riau Islands.

-- BERNAMA