2 November 2019
MHIRA Founder & President speaks at Insights into Hemp Industry at the International Islamic University of Malaysia 
Participants of Insights into Hemp Industry Forum 
Launching of Hemptech Venture with World Startup Festival
MHIRA Leads First Industrial Hemp Venture in Malaysia
MHIRA – Malaysia HempTech Industrial Research Association presents 1st introduction Conference in conjunction with 3 Days “Induction Education Industrial Hemp Workshop” with new members and forum attended by University researchers and government agencies
02 November 2019 10:00 AM
KUALA LUMPUR — MHIRA – Malaysia HempTech Industrial Research Association, a non-profit industrial research association consisting of more than one -hundred new members, host its 1st conference on Saturday, November 2nd 2019, held at the International Islamic University, Gombak Kuala Lumpur. The 1s t conference featured MHIRA ‘s Linking Industrial Hemp with Sustainable Development Goals 2030. The conference will focus on researchers, governmental agencies and its members with the theme Insights into Hemp Industry to include representation from MHIRA partnered institutions and organisations.
Launching alongside with the backing of World Startup Festival of fondly known as WSF Ventures; MHIRA and WSF seek to co-create the first Malaysian Hemp-Tech Venture to set-base the government and private sector players in the HempTech industry in Malaysia. MHIRA which has previously has received support from the local government; Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) and several relevant government agencies, pledges to set this HempTech Venture as a the sole-body to overlook regulation as well as a council to recognize proper use and mandated authority to commission HempTech licensee holders in Malaysia. Since its start, MHIRA has always been a key role player in the HempTech industry in the region; from the board, member meetings to set phase its first public forum for the next APEC-2020 HempTech Conference to be held in June 2020.
“It is not easy for us to bring up these sensitive topics as there are many things at stake in the Hemp industry. For an industry worth trillions of dollars, to look back into principles, health and the environment at the expense of profit, is a risky venture. But for us at the World Startup Festival, we believe in nurturing businesses that create a positive impact on the planet, and not just profit. We live in a fast-paced world where markets and industries change overnight, and technology is the key ingredient to this cause, hence I believe we need a disruptive change. We need to be critical of what goes onto our plate, and today I believe MHIRA is the KOL in this subject matter” said Mr. Udesh Chaskar; Director of the World Startup Festival.
Today was announced a partnership with the leading Industrial Hemp organisation MHIRA and WSF following a series of three day education induction workshop with 35 its new members and introduction forums with 80 participants at the International Islamic University Malaysia, IIUM which includes government agencies, Researchers from IIUM and MHIRA new members from different state in Malaysia which clearly highlighted the need for Industrial Hemp Linking SDGoals in order to align with the new Malaysia vision and to be fully legal in Malaysia.
MHIRA are well versed in the Hemp application process, having worked in this Industrial Hemp global network since 2015 in areas such as Industrial Hemp Research and Linking to UN SDGoals in Vienna, Austria. This has led to an in-depth understanding of the agricultural, harvesting, manufacturing, technology and life-science behind Hemp as well as compliance with mandatory requirements such as Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP).
By working with the global hemp network, MHIRA partnering with WSF aims to ensure that their members are in the process of making the Hemp applications and are doing so in a correct and timely manner.
Forums and dialogues at the conference will cover a broad range of issues, including hemp Kapten Amirrudin case; introduces MHIRA’s Linking Industrial Hemp and Sustainable Development for the people, industry, economics and sustainable planet; commodities; cutting-edge hemp research; hemp product and innovation; as well as Malaysia and Japan hemp policy. The Forum also offers an excellent opportunity for members networking and future development in Industrial Hemp. Global industrial hemp market is predicted to exceed USD 270 million by the year 2025, according to the latest research available at Market Study Report LLC, the report provides extensive data on market share, growth, trends and forecasts for the period 2019-2025.
According to the report, growing consumer awareness about bio-based products, changes in lifestyle, and burgeoning health concerns are driving the industrial hemp market. The key application segments of hemp-based products are building materials, bio-composites, textiles, personal care, food & beverages among several others, due to consumer awareness endorsing healthy lifestyle, environmentally friendly and favourable regulatory outlook. Industrial hemp market is extensively fragmented with legalized cultivation across several nations. The industry players experience a dearth of proper infrastructure to attain economies of scale. However, Thailand, China, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and France have a solid network of producers, manufacturing facilities, and supply chain to supply products to the marketplace. This situation majorly influences hemp imports while generating a competitive environment between the international and domestic market.
Industrial hemp is associated with various nutritional and environmental benefits. It is rich in poly-saturated fats, amino acids omega-3, poly-saturated fatty acids, omega-6, dietary fibre, and plant-based protein. Hemp oil derived from their seeds encompasses large amounts of antioxidants which offer an array of benefits in beauty, skin, and hair applications. Hemp also has the potential of healing tumours, reducing the chances of developing diabetes, and eases pain and stiffness, as well as chronic pain which is a vital factor behind the rising demand.
The food & beverage application of global industrial hemp seeds market is anticipated to observe over 5 percent growth during the projected timeline. Rising dietary supplements demand in Europe, North America, and Asia with the increasing significance of fitness, healthy lifestyle, and deficiency of minerals, vitamins, and fatty acids causing diseases is encouraging the consumption of hemp-based food products. Speaking of the geographical hierarchy, hemp shives market of North America from building material applications would observe the growth of approximately 3 percent over the projected duration. The product together with lime creates construction material termed as hempcrete. Hempcrete is used in ceiling insulation, floor slabs, and internal coatings for buildings under renovation. As a building material, it enhances water resistance and strength, along with being a more insulating and lightweight mixture. The spike in demand for sustainable building materials in North American nations is anticipated to stimulate proceeds in the industrial hemp market. In 2018, the contribution of pulp & paper applications in the industrial hemp fibres market was valued at more than USD 43 million. Industrial hemp is a quick-growing crop and can potentially reduce deforestation owing to its high yield and rapid growth. European nations such as Spain, France, Germany have a flourishing hemp-based pulp & paper market where more than 50 percent of hemp fibres were utilized by paper vertical in the year 2018.
According to MHIRA President, Mr Mohamad @ Johan, Hemp is the best source for superfood and important to forecast our nation Food Security including the best sustainable eco products for all needs. Currently, Malaysia cultivated for varieties of non-sustainable crops, compared with just one million hectares for food crops. A typical plantation company would have thousands of acres of land to cultivate oil palm. Food crop farmers, on the other hand, only have about five acres each to work on. “Their income is not big enough to attract more people to agriculture. Only 28% of the country’s population is involved in agriculture and they are, on average, 60 years old. Industrial Hemp can support 5 to 10 times income among farmers and younger farmers will be interested if necessary education on food security and eco products is part of their future needs. He also added many farmers quit planting food crops and start planting oil palm which does not have less demand globally. Some of them even sold their agricultural land. “Our goals are to provide the leadership required to work alongside policy-makers, regulators, producers and retailers to achieve the shared goal of an innovative, responsible, high quality and legally compliant sector,” Mohamad said.
Malaysia must look at hemp for food production needs, we are way behind our neighbouring countries. For example, according to local data last year, Malaysia only produces 71% of the rice we need to be self-sufficient. We also lack fruit (66%), vegetables (40%)and ruminants (29%). Our daily food is all being imported and this is not a good practise for us having one of the best climate and land in the world. For the past decades, Malaysia has been working a lot on its groundworks in building the nation into a global hub, starting with an ASEAN hub for all its population. It has excelled in areas of higher education, better-skilled workforce & good technological advancement over the years together with the strong corporations existed till today. With the upcoming fourth Industrial. Revolution has shown some interesting challenges globally; Malaysia seems to be in a precarious situation and constantly facing challenges poses from the international market. Besides that, there are also country’s internal factors that prevent from progressing forward where we acknowledge the Malaysian dream of maintaining HARIMAU ASIA as a platform to build rapport among the young & upcoming new generation in Malaysia. MHIRA aspire to fight alongside with Malaysian vision in getting our upcoming young generation into shape for a more productive culture with the end goal for the betterment of Malaysia. That’s the reason why we want to reach out to you once again because it is high time that this country needs an alternative sustainable resource to steer the economy ahead to compete in the international arena, improve our country’s GDP and its population’s purchasing power.
Therefore, MHIRA has aligned its efforts with the agenda in assisting the government to reform this country into one true “Harimau Asia, the Asian Tiger”.
About MHIRA
The MALAYSIA HEMPTECH INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH ASSOCIATION is Malaysia’s first Hemp Industry Research Non-Governmental and Non-Profit membership body for stakeholders operating in Industrial Hemp markets. We have a unique capability to engage intelligently and strategically with all influential local and global policy stakeholders, as well as relevant regulatory bodies, drawing on the experience from our global network experiences.
MHIRA is a membership-based non-profit research association, is to educate and advance SDGoals and the hemp economy and educate the market for the benefit of our members, the public, and the planet. More information about hemp’s many uses and hemp advocacy may be found at www.hemptech.org.my , email: [email protected]
Contact MHIRA’s Membership & Partnership Head, Mr Ahmad Qaiyum at : 0142345807
About WSF
World Startup Festival (WSF), a global venture builder headquartered in California, helping companies around the world to grow and scale into different markets, with a particular focus on emerging markets in Asia and Africa. WSF provides end-to-end support for businesses at any stage of growth, including personalized mentorship, legal support, regional accelerator boot camps, funding, cross-border collaborations, media exposure and market expansion. WSF brings together entrepreneurs, governments, corporations, media and community leaders spanning all regions to unite to create a seamless global support structure for youth entrepreneurship, working in line with the objectives of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Commonwealth Youth Council (CYC) and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). WSF Venture working alongside Global Assets with a history of listing 15 companies to date, strongly visions MHIRA to be the backbone of HempTech Venture, set to launch in 2020.