Swiftlet farming can be profitable

Borneo Post

by Yunus Yussop
September 4, 2010, Saturday

BINTULU: Swiftlet industry can be a lucrative venture to the operators as the commodity can fetch  RM6,000 to RM7,000 per kilogramme in the current market.In the world market the highest price offered was around RM12,000 to RM24,000 per kg. Assistant Minister of Tourism Datuk Talib Zulpilip said the government is very supportive to expand the industry and hopefully those in the rural areas could also grab the opportunity.

He said the operations are more suitable to be carried out in the rural areas compared to the urban as a far as hygiene is concerned. Managing swiftlet  farming is also easy and there is no need for many workers but the only thing that the operators must do is to provide the place for the bird to lay and incubate its eggs and also to raise its young ones, said Talib. He said this when officiating at the closing of Swiftlets design and equipment technology workshop organised by Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) at Medan Niaga, Jepak yesterday. “Unlike before, where the birds were nesting inside the caves,  now we can build a special house for them. It is more practical in the rural areas because besides preserving the environment it also can avoid other complications,” he added.

He said the big markets for the swiftlet product were   China, Korea, Taiwan and Singapore and this was due to their belief the product was rich with nutrition. Talib who is also SEDC chairman assured that more workshops on  swiftlet farming would be held in future to encourage more participation from the people and at the same time to boost the country’s economy. “Under the Tenth Malaysia Plan, the federal government wants to diversify the income of the people and the state government on the other hand will give its support by issuing more permits for swiftlets farming,” he said. 

Earlier, 61 participants took part in the workshop, which was conducted by Wong Jor Jie Abdullah from National Resource and Environment Board (NREB) Deputy Resident (Development) Sirai Daha and Sarawak Bumiputera Chamber of Commerce Bintulu branch chairman Kadir Sahib were among those present.