Regulatory Strategies for Facilitating Exports by Microenterprises in Malaysia

Abstract

There is a perception that microenterprises should not export. This is due to their size hence they do not have the necessary resources to do so. This is very much reflected in the statistics on who contributes to Malaysia’s exports. However, there are benefits of exporting which can be tapped by microenterprises. However, interviews conducted on some microenterprises indicate some factors that inhibit them from exporting. Thus, export facilitation for microenterprises is important. Based on this premise, this paper uses the concept of regulatory strategies to analyse the components of regulatory eco-system underlying facilitation of exports by microenterprises in Malaysia. The focus will be on four broad categories of policies and measures namely export promotion policy, SME capacity building policies, border policies, and measures and food safety assurance programs. This paper concludes by highlighting the important role of border policies and measures and food safety assurance programmes in enhancing exports by microenterprises.