PETALING JAYA: Malaysia will be the first country to take part in central China’s annual Flower and Plant Trade Expo in 2010.
The decision to take Malaysian flowers to the expo was made after Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen met XuChang municipal government mayor Li Ya.
Dr Ng said Malaysia was keen to develop its parks and gardens as a tourism product and saw the international flower exhibition, which attracted an average of seven million visitors in previous years, as an ideal platform to market the nation’s potential.
XuChang City in Henan province is the main host of the exhibition and is also the largest exporter of flowers and plants in China.
Dr Ng felt that there was a tourism opportunity in XuChang, a city with an agricultural area of flowers and plants covering 323,748ha.
In 10 years, the average per capita income for the local community increased from RMB2,000 (RM1,022) in 1998 to RMB8,000 (RM4,089) in 2008.
Dr Ng said there was a similar case study in Raub, where female entrepreneurs run two flower and plant nurseries on 809ha land.
“This is a very effective way to boost the income of the poor; when implemented correctly it can raise their living standards,” she said.
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