Amid the buzz of MIHAS 2026, one number might have slipped past most people’s attention but is quietly striking: Malaysia’s exports to Libya jumped 73.4 percent over the first eight months of this year. The figure was announced alongside the official opening of the Libya Pavilion at MITEC today, marked by a ribbon-cutting ceremony led by MATRADE Chairman Dato’ Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican.
Looking closer, Malaysia’s export value to Libya for January–August 2026 stood at RM106.5 million — dominated by machinery and equipment, chemical products, and palm oil-based products. This surge isn’t a one-year fluke: total bilateral trade between the two countries throughout 2025 already reached RM1.03 billion, up 38.9 percent from the year before. In other words, this growth trend has now held for at least two consecutive years.
Interestingly, this momentum didn’t appear out of nowhere. The story traces back to MATRADE’s Export Acceleration Mission to Tripoli in May 2024, which involved 10 Malaysian companies and generated nearly RM250 million in business opportunities. From there, trade ties were further nurtured through Malaysia’s participation at the Tripoli International Fair earlier this year — which eventually led to Libya’s full-fledged country pavilion presence at MIHAS 2026.
MATRADE’s Chairman described the pavilion’s presence as more than just an ordinary exhibition booth. “It is a bridge, a gateway into North Africa and the Mediterranean for Malaysia and ASEAN, and a launching pad into Asia’s Halal economy for our Libyan friends,” he said while officiating the pavilion. He added that by bringing Libya’s growing private sector into Malaysia’s halal ecosystem — including its certification systems, quality assurance, and trade infrastructure — both countries can build supply chains strong enough to serve the wider Islamic world.
The Libya Pavilion itself is organised through a collaboration between the Tripoli Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (TCCIA) and the General Authority for Exhibitions and Conferences (GAFEC) — two institutions representing Libya’s side of this trade partnership.
“MATRADE stands ready, arms wide open, to help Libyan enterprises step into ASEAN, just as we hope more Malaysian companies will seize the opportunities Libya offers,” Reezal Merican added, underscoring that this trade relationship is designed to run both ways, not benefit just one side.
Libya’s presence also fits into the bigger picture of MIHAS 2026 this year — MATRADE’s most ambitious showcase yet, bringing together 2,000 exhibitors from 58 countries and projected to generate RM5.0 billion in trade sales. Regionally, Northeast Asia and ASEAN remain the largest buyer base, but representation from Africa — Libya included — keeps growing as an increasingly significant non-traditional market.
For Malaysia, which is targeting RM80 billion in halal export value by 2030, this 73 percent surge story is more than a small statistic tucked into MIHAS’s bigger headlines. It’s a real example of how Malaysia’s market diversification strategy plays out on the ground — one country, one pavilion, and trade growth built on relationships nurtured over years.
For exhibitors and businesses attending MIHAS 2026, Libya’s story is also worth reflecting on: a market that’s rarely on the radar can turn out to be among the fastest-growing. Over just the past eight months, the pace of export growth to Libya has outstripped Malaysia’s traditional markets by a wide margin — a sign that MATRADE’s oft-repeated “look toward new markets” strategy isn’t just a slogan, but is actually bearing out in the numbers.
If this trend continues, the range of products exported to Libya could well expand too — following a pattern also visible across MIHAS 2026 as a whole, where premium buyer demand now reaches well beyond food and beverage, into specialised ingredients, biotechnology, and Islamic finance. Machinery, chemicals, and palm oil products may just be the starting point of a trade relationship that still has plenty of room to grow.
Moslem Journey will continue following Malaysia’s halal trade partnerships with its international partners throughout MIHAS 2026. Stay tuned for full coverage.
