Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Noh Omar today said local food products for export should use the brand name of '1Malaysia Best', which would be launched later this month.

He said the cabinet had agreed to use the brand to facilitate the promotion and marketing of local food products abroad.

"We decided to use this marketing strategy because Malaysia produces so many products. For example, we took 52 products to Morocco and North Africa recently, but it was difficult to promote them all at the same time.

"So, if we have the '1Malaysia Best', we can promote our products just like Nestle does. Mention Nestle, its wide range of products immediately come to mind," he told reporters after attending the ministry's monthly assembly in Kuala Lumpur today.

On small and medium-scale Bumiputera entrepreneurs' concern that their products were not listed in the foreign hypermarkets in the country, Noh said there were opportunities in other markets.

"The Federal Agriculture Marketing Authority (Fama) had met with the foreign hypermarket operators to convince them to put our products in their stores worldwide.

"So, if their local quota is already full, they can still put our products in their stores elsewhere, not just in Malaysia," he said.

At the same time, Noh said bumiputera entrepreneurs could also use the farmers' market as a platform to introduce their food products.

"We have three types of farmers' market, namely the normal, the mega and the permanent, and we also have 20 farmers' shops and 18 petrol stations which are collaborating with the Farmers Organisation Authority (LPP) in marketing local food products," he added.

- Bernama