Malaysian fresh fruit was showcased during a promotional event at a leading Finnish hypermarket recently in a bid to bring more exotics to the Nordic region. 

A two-day promotional campaign was held at Finnish chain K-citymarket as a platform to test the market and introduce new products to Finnish consumers.

It was such a success that a new deal could be on the cards between Malaysian exporters and the hypermarket which has 80 stores across the country.

The hypermarket does already import small volumes of some Malaysian fresh produce and processed food, but officials believe much higher volumes could be absorbed, following the response of the campaign,

Malaysian fruit including carambola (star fruit), mangosteen, mango, red dragon fruit, jackfruit, pineapple and papaya were promoted at a K-citymarket store in Tammisto.

K-citymarket already stocks carambola worth around €€20,000 (US$22,576), while around 800kg of fruit was brought in for the campaign with 30% for test sampling and the rest for sales.

All produce sold out within two-day signaling a good response from consumers eager to try imported produce.

The promotion was organized by the Malaysia Agriculture Office (MAO) in the Hague and involved Malaysian exporter DRS Trading and officials from the Embassy of Malaysia in Helsinki.

"“The promotion event was a success and indicates market potential in Finland,”" an Embassy of Malaysia spokesperson tells www.freshfruitportal.com.

"“The program was aimed at exploring possible opportunities to open avenues for Malaysian agro-food products to penetrate Finland'’s market as well as to enhance close cooperation with the local supermarkets."”

Follow up meetings are to be arranged to discuss market potential for the coming year with importers and distributors and the Malaysia Embassy in Finland is also planning the Asean Food Fair where more fruit will be featured during the summer event.

Photos: Embassy of Malaysia in Helsinki

www.freshfruitportal.com