Biotropics Welcomes 32 Delegates from Department of Agriculture Malaysia and IMT-GT for Value Chain Sharing Session and Factory Visit.‍

20 November 2025 – Biotropics Malaysia Berhad had the privilege of hosting 32 international and local delegates for a factory visit and knowledge sharing session, organized by the Department of Agriculture Malaysia and the Indonesia–Malaysia–Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) initiative.

The session was framed around regional collaboration, focusing on high-value economic herbs, sustainable propagation, and responsible commercialization across the agricultural value chain.

Biotropics shared its journey in developing Malaysia’s iconic herb, Tongkat Ali, from raw plant biomass into standardized herbal extracts (PHYSTA) that later become clinically supported health supplements for domestic retail and global markets. These products now reach customers and industry partners in the United States, Japan, South Korea, the Middle East, Africa, Australia, and many other regions where demand for Southeast Asian botanical ingredients continues to expand.

The visit reinforced a shared sense of appreciation for Malaysia’s growing herb ecosystem and its ability to contribute to international supply chains. This recognition reflects long-term efforts shaped by collaboration with herb collectors, farmers, research institutions, scientists, and regulatory partners who have played a role in strengthening the foundation of the industry over the years.

‍Why Biotropics Was Invited ‍

Biotropics was welcomed into this initiative not to display scale, but to contribute experience rooted in longstanding dedication to responsible biomass sourcing, research partnership, and extract standardization. Biotropics continues to approach herb development with humility, acknowledging that high-value agriculture is a shared achievement built through years of science-backed validation, farmer empowerment, industry cooperation, and regional teamwork.

Biotropics shared that progress in the herb value chain is never driven by one company alone. It grows from an ecosystem that includes forest gatherers, raw material processors, researchers, product analysts, academics, and industry leaders working toward the same purpose—giving Southeast Asian herbs a place in global wellness and ingredient markets.

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Background: Department of Agriculture Malaysia & IMT-GT Program

The Department of Agriculture Malaysia is the national authority advancing crop development, agricultural research enablement, farmer capability building, and the commercialization of raw agricultural biomass into higher-value downstream applications.

IMT-GT is a tri-nation cooperation program established in 1993, formed to strengthen economic partnerships between Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. Agriculture and agro-based industry remain priority sectors under IMT-GT, emphasizing sustainable crop propagation, knowledge exchange, stronger regional value chains and increased private-sector participation to support trade and investment across borders.

Under the IMT-GT Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry agenda, core strategic directions include:

• Encouraging collaboration between government agencies, the private sector, academic institutions and civil society to support technology transfer, knowledge exchange and regional agriculture capacity building.
• Promoting the development of value-added agriculture products, including high-value and knowledge-intensive crops, through sustainable and environmentally responsible production practices.
• Supporting participation of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to strengthen cross-border agro-industry value chains while encouraging regional trade and investment.
• Encouraging sustainable crop propagation and eco-informed agro-logistics systems to enable responsible movement of agriculture raw materials across IMT-GT territories.

Biotropics Herb Value Chain, Shared End-to-End

Delegates were guided through Biotropics’ end-to-end herb commercialization and extraction pathway, beginning from ethically sourced raw Tongkat Ali roots collected by trained herb gatherers, followed by biomass quality qualification, extraction processing, laboratory testing, formulation work, and clinical research collaborations. Biotropics also shared how standardized extracts (PHYSTA and BIOKESUM) later become high-quality supplements marketed under the Nu‑Prep Brand range, the company’s proprietary kesum extract line (Kesum 250mg), and other Malaysian botanical ingredient portfolios commercialized under Biotropics for retail, ingredient, and global export markets.

Appreciation To Department of Agriculture Malaysia

Sincere appreciation is extended to the Department of Agriculture Malaysia and IMT-GT organizers for their trust and for the opportunity to contribute to this regional dialogue. This milestone affirms the importance of continued cooperation as Southeast Asia strengthens its position in the high-value herb and botanical extract sector, led by responsible sourcing, scientific validation, and a shared long-term vision for Malaysia’s economic herbs in global wellness and ingredient markets.