Malaysia's trade agency announced measures on Thursday to safeguard the country's exports amid rising geopolitical tensions arising from the military conflict in the Middle East.
The agency is actively encouraging Malaysian exporters to reroute and diversify trade, as well as providing support for companies to navigate maritime blockades, surging logistics costs and supply chain disruptions, it said in a statement.
The Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation said it is encouraging Malaysian exporters to reroute their shipments to alternative, low-risk entry ports within the Middle East, such as the Port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates or Salalah in Oman.
The agency is also accelerating plans to help Malaysian companies diversify into regions that are less impacted, such as South Asia, Latin America and Africa, as well as boosting trade among neighbouring Southeast Asian countries.
Malaysian exporters can access preferential tariff treatments that provide duty savings through the various free trade agreements Malaysia has signed, the agency added.
"While the closure of critical chokepoints like the Strait of Hormuz tests our agility, we are empowering our offices in Dubai, Jeddah, and Cairo to act as frontline support centres for every Malaysian exporter in need," the agency's chair Reezal Merican said in the statement.
(Reporting by Danial Azhar; Editing by David Stanway)
