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BFID is expected to open up opportunities for businesses to manufacture their products in a standard approved facility, in addition to other services including R&D and packing.
Ghanim International Corporation Sdn Bhd was established by the government in 2009 to play a key role in the food industry development and economic diversification by developing, marketing and promoting products under the bruneihalalfoods brand in Brunei and across the world. The company actively works in partnership with local businesses to develop Made in Brunei products aimed at import substitution and growing exports.
In the last seven years, Ghanim has been exporting over 15 Bruneian-made products to many countries including China, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Singapore, Bangladesh and Palestine. To cater to the growing halal food market, estimated to be valued at USD2.09 trillion in 2021 and expected to further grow to USD3.27 trillion by 2028 with a CAGR of 6.56 per cent, Ghanim established the Brunei Food Industry Development (BFID) Multipurpose Manufacturing and Processing Facility.
The facility was set up in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and Economy (MoFE), Darussalam Enterprise (DARe) and other government agencies. Construction began in June 2020 and was recently completed in January this year.
BFID has the capacity to produce a wide variety of products including canned food, ready-to-eat meals in pouches, frozen ready-to-heat products, frozen ready-to-cook products including chicken, beef, seafood, vegetables as well as snacks and noodles. Export is expected to commence by the third quarter of 2023.
Ghanim Chief Executive Officer Dr Nur Rahman said, “With some years of export experience and understanding on the international market requirements, we saw a huge opportunity for Brunei to make a name in the global halal food market and produce globally competitive halal food products, so we worked together with key stakeholders to establish a processing facility that will have the highest possible international standards. As we have been exporting Bruneian-made food products by the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), we wanted to have a facility that can also support their growth.”
BFID is expected to open up opportunities to local MSMEs to manufacture their products in a standard approved facility, where they have established a line that is available on rental basis for MSMEs.
“With an aim to develop the food industry ecosystem as a whole, the BFID facility will also develop Brunei’s capacity to conduct research and development (R&D) of food products and to repack food products,” he said.
Most of the machine commissioning and fine-tuning are complete. BFID is expected to be certified under Halal, ISO2200, HACCP and British Retail Consortium (BRC). Aside from Ghanim’s own manufacturing for bruneihalalfoods products, BFID will also offer a wide range of services including contract manufacturing, OEM and private labelling, rental of multipurpose facility, product development, R&D, packing and repacking as well as storage facility. Production lines for chicken nuggets, Brunei shrimp crackers, fruits and vegetables have already commenced, with others including corn beef, lamb mutton and marinated range to follow suit. BFID facility is also increasing processing of fruits and vegetables to support local farmers in their harvest and productivity.
Through BFID, the company is also extending its role in supporting MSMEs in the supply of some key raw materials. MSMEs will be able to buy major raw materials at competitive price.
BFID is expected to be a centre to aggregate local agricultural produce to enhance competitiveness of raw material inputs and value chain to support the development of the agriculture sector, while working with the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism (MPRT) to increase sales of local produce through Pasar Kitani. Ghanim also supplies urea produced by Brunei Fertilizer Industries (BFI) to local farmers at Salambigar Junction Store.
Aside from BFID, Ghanim is also championing the Brunei Local Produce Centre (BLPC), a programme initiated by the government in April 2020 to support local farmers to access the market during the pandemic. Through BLPC, Ghanim purchases the produce directly from local farmers and distributes them through its retail network, now made up of its own Junction stores, supermarkets and restaurants. Over 70 farmers have participated and the programme is expected to grow further this year.
Ghanim has recently launched Brunei’s first locally produced cooking oil – an essential commodity and one of the major import substitution products. This new important addition to the bruneihalalfoods portfolio is one step forward in the company’s role as a key player in contributing to the national aspirations for food security and import substitution.
The launch ceremony was held at Ghanim’s newly built Brunei Food Industry Development Multipurpose Manufacturing and Processing Facility (BFID). Dr Nur said that the facility – jointly developed with Darussalam Enterprise (DARe) – is expected to be fully operational this year, which is expected to usher in a new growth phase for the state-owned company. (BIZ|BRUNEI 31/7/23)
Over the last three years, Ghanim has increased its number of employees from 25 to 80 and will soon exceed 100. Its employees mostly consist of Bruneians to cater the growth in all elements of business including manufacturing, trading, retailing and local produce promotion.
When asked what’s in store for Ghanim in 2023, the CEO said Ghanim will continue to expand its global reach by distributing Bruneian-made food products into more new markets and participating in international trade expos. Earlier this year, Ghanim participated in Gulfood and Thaifex in Dubai and Bangkok. Ghanim is also aiming for new markets with Japan, Timor-Leste, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Australia on its list.
