MICF 2025 Boosts Sabah’s Position as Malaysia’s Cocoa Powerhouse — Chan Foong Hin

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 11 — The Malaysia International Cocoa Festival (MICF) 2025, held from May 24 to 27 in Kota Kinabalu, has successfully strengthens Sabah’s role in cocoa industry boosting international trade opportunities for Malaysian cocoa entrepreneurs, according to Deputy Minister of Plantations and Commodities, Chan Foong Hin.

Chan said the four-day festival, organised by the Malaysian Cocoa Board (LKM), served as a strategic platform to promote Malaysia’s cocoa industry, highlight innovations and technologies, and strengthen connections across the cocoa value chain.

The Deputy Minister Chan was responding to Tawau Member of Parliament Lo Su Fui in Parliament here today who asked the Minister of Plantations and Commodities to state the economic impact and the number of cocoa growers and entrepreneurs in Sabah who benefited from the Malaysia International Cocoa Festival (MICF) 2025, given that Sabah contributes over 60% of the country’s cocoa production, with the involvement of approximately 3,000 active farmers cultivating more than 3,000 hectares of cocoa plantations in the state.

“MICF 2025 has not only showcased our high-quality cocoa and chocolate products but also created significant economic impact especially for cocoa growers and entrepreneurs in Sabah,” he said.

Chan revealed that over 100 exhibitors, including eight chocolate entrepreneurs from Sabah, participated in the event.

Collectively, they recorded more than RM355 million in sales, with over RM200,000 in direct sales from Sabah-based entrepreneurs alone.

“Business matching programmes, collaboration with MATRADE for virtual international sourcing, and live sales through TikTok were instrumental in achieving these figures,” he noted.

The festival also hosted 350 business matching sessions involving local and international cocoa industry players, resulting in export orders worth over RM12.61 million to markets including China, India, Japan, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

“This clearly demonstrates the export potential of Malaysian cocoa, especially products from Sabah.

“Four entrepreneurs from the state secured international orders a major milestone for rural agropreneurs,” Chan said.

The festival further served as a platform to strengthen Malaysia’s cocoa value chain by connecting farmers, manufacturers, buyers, and investors to exchange knowledge and explore business opportunities.

“MICF brought together 2,342 participants, including 404 key industry players such as 58 cocoa farmers, 270 chocolate processors and manufacturers, and 76 entrepreneurs nationwide.

“These engagements have revitalised our cocoa ecosystem,” he added.

The event attracted more than 16,000 local and international visitors and featured Sabah’s agro-tourism through cocoa farm tours in Tuaran and Ranau.

“Agro-cocoa tourism offers a new economic avenue for rural communities while promoting Sabah’s cocoa as a unique attraction,” said Chan.

He also highlighted the growing global demand for premium cocoa, noting that the average price of dry cocoa beans surged 141% in 2024 to RM24,274 per metric tonne, up from RM10,073 the year before.

“This price surge reflects increasing demand for high-quality cocoa. We aim to expand cocoa plantation areas from 5,985 hectares to 10,000 hectares by 2030 to meet this growing demand,” he said.

In line with this goal, the Ministry has launched the Cocoa Cultivation Promotion Programme for the Plantation Sector to drive plantation-scale expansion.

Chan also announced that he will be in Tawau tomorrow for the Sabah edition of the programme, focusing on encouraging wider cocoa cultivation and branding local premium cocoa as single origin and fine flavour products.

“Positioning Malaysian cocoa as unique in flavour and origin allows us to stand out in the global market and attract international chocolate makers looking for distinctive taste profiles,” he said.

The MICF 2025 achievements and ongoing cocoa promotion initiatives reaffirm the government’s commitment to strengthening the national cocoa industry and uplifting rural agropreneurs — especially in cocoa-rich regions like Sabah.