Friday, December 30, 2011

Ban on imports badly affecting demand for white bird’s nest in China

By JACK WONG
jackwong@thestar.com.my


KUCHING: Unprocessed white bird's nest prices have fallen further as demand for Malaysia's bird's nest products has been badly affected after China banned their imports about five months ago. “The average price has dropped to around RM3,000 per kilo as compared with RM4,500 before the ban,” said Sarawak Bird's Nest Suppliers Association secretary Colin Wong Chung Onn

China imposed an import ban in July after nitrate was found in Malaysian bird's nests. Wong said although there was demand, most swiftlet breeders were in no hurry to sell at the current depressed prices. “Unprocessed bird's nests can be stored without going bad for about a year with good control of humidity and temperature,” he told The Star yesterday.

He said the prices were likely to recover if China lifted the ban soon as stocks of bird's nest products in the mainland were expected to drop to a low level with increased consumption of the delicacy during the Lunar New Year.

Locally, bird's nests are packed in gift hampers to be given away during festive seasons. Agriculture and Agro-based Minister Datuk Seri Noh Omar was reported to have said last month that a committee set up by Malaysia and China to determine the permissible level of nitrate in bird's nest products was expected to resolve the issue before the Chinese New Year. The committee was formed following a meeting between Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai and his Chinese counterpart Chen Zhu in Beijing. Its members include food specialists and experts. Liow had said that China would lift the ban after determining the allowed level of nitrate.

China is Malaysia's biggest importer of bird's nest products, valued at about RM1bil annually. Wong said Chinese officials and experts were expected to visit Malaysia soon to see how bird's nests were processed.
Asked about the mushrooming of new swiftlet houses, mostly in the central region, Wong said the association did not have the latest figures as most of the new operators had not joined as its members.

Sarawak's first swiftlet eco-park in Balingian, Mukah, which will have 40 units of three-storey buildings and 15 units of three-storey bungalows, is expected to be ready next year. The RM40mil eco-park is a joint-venture between state Economic Development Corporation and peninsula-based Borneo Resources Synergy Sdn Bhd.

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Flocking to Teluk Intan

Friday December 23, 2011

By SYLVIA LOOI sylvia@thestar.com.my  Photos by SAIFUL BAHRI

TELUK Intan, the third largest town in Perak, is booming. Known for its large tracts of oil palm plantations, the coastal town is making a name for itself in another lucrative venture — the bird’s nest industry.
Teluk Intan Municipal councillor Kong Sun Chin said investors were flocking to the town to invest in shoplots to rear swiftlets.
Popular spot: The leaning clock tower in Teluk Intan is one of the many tourist attractions here.
“Whereas in the past, property developers needed to wait patiently for potential buyers to approach them, it has now become the opposite. “Some even resort to camping outside the night before the launch of commercial projects in order to secure units,” he told MetroPerak.
Kong said three-storey shoplots were especially popular while two-storey units were also much sought after.
“The higher the shoplots, the pricier they are,” he added.
Good money: A filepic of a swiftlet farm at a shophouse in Teluk Intan.
Giving an example, Kong said a two-storey unit could fetch as much as RM300,000.
“Those which are three storeys high is more than double of that at RM700,000 while a four-storey shoplot could cost as much as RM1mil,” he said. Kong said locals were also reaping handsome returns from the sale of their commercial property. “An owner only needs to voice out his intention to sell and there will be buyers lining up to buy it off him,” Kong said.
Meanwhile, shoplots with existing swiftlets could fetch even higher prices, according to one investor.
Ng, as he wished to be identified, said there was an extremely high population of swiftlets in Teluk Intan.
“There are more swiftlets here in Teluk Intan than there are human beings,” he said. Ng, who started dabbling in swiftlet farms four years ago, said the price of a shoplot with 200 to 300 birds’ nests could shoot up to RM1.2mil.
Council president Ibrahim Ahmad said Teluk Intan was the second highest producer of bird’s nest in the state after the Manjung district. “We have issued over 500 licences to operators this year alone.
“The council’s One-Stop-Centre has also received a higher number of project proposals for buildings higher than one storey,” Ibrahim said.
Since the 1980s, wild swiftlets have turned to man-made structures to house their young due to the loss of their natural habitat to development. Indonesia’s forest fires and the subsequent haze during the 1990s, drove millions of swiftlets to Malaysia, especially to coastal towns like Sitiawan and Teluk Intan

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Koternak invests RM80 mln in bird’s nest industry

by Irene C. Posted on December 18, 2011, Sunday
KUCHING: Livestock Breeders and Importers Co-operatives Malaysia Limited (Koternak) is investing RM80 million in Sarawak’s bird’s nest industry. Its chairman Jagjit Singh said this was because Sarawak produces the finest bird’s nests which are in demand.
“The industry is rife with business opportunities with the booming China economy and demand for bird’s nest,” Jagjit said at the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) signing ceremony between Koternak and Hai Huat Trading Sdn Bhd here yesterday.
However, the demand for bird’s nest in China has declined due to the presence of naturally occurring nitrate. Hai Huat Trading Sdn Bhd has bought technology from Singapore to remove the nitrate, said its CEO Dato Dr Vincent Ng. “The market for bird’s nest is in China and it used to sell at RM5,000 per kg but has dropped to RM2,500 to RM3,000 per kg due to the presence of nitrate. China has even banned its import. With the technology to remove the nitrate, we believe the industry will boom again,” said Dr Ng.
Meanwhile, Assistant Minister of Agriculture Datuk Mong Dagang who was there to witness the signing ceremony said the bird’s nest industry was a sunrise industry.  Traditionally bird’s nests were collected from caves in Sarawak but now more of them are being collected from bird houses.
The last few years have seen a proliferation of these man-made bird houses in Sarawak, West Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand to meet the growing demand. The industry is poised to grow from to strength to strength, said Mong who is also Bukit Begunan assemblyman. “I prefer the term ‘bird house’ rather than ‘bird hotel’ as I believe the investors want the birds to stay for good, not just temporarily. Bird houses are not cheap as they have to be carefully designed and built to specifications in strategic locations.”
“Under the laws in Sarawak, the Wildlife Protection Ordinance 1998 and the regulations that bird houses may only be built in rural areas as the birds are noisy creatures and do not make good neighbours with their persistent droppings.” Mong praises Koternak for the foresight to venture into the bird’s nest industry.
Hai Huat Trading Sdn Bhd has been trading in bird’s nest and related products for the past 30 years. It has its own factory producing quality bird’s nest products for sale locally and in Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand and China. Also present were Hai Huat Trading Sdn Bhd management director Chua Pieng Hock and Gene Oasis Pte Ltd (Singapore) chairman and chief scientist Dr Lim Kah Meng.

Friday, December 2, 2011

Dr Ongkili: Prawn and swiftlet farming to benefit Kota Marudu

By DURIE RAINER FONG
durie@thestar.com.my

KOTA KINABALU: Prawn rearing and swiftlet farming will hasten the transformation of Kota Marudu into a prime agricultural centre. The two high-yield industries — identified as strategic activities for the district under the National Key Economic Areas — would also see Kota Marudu turned into an economic hub, said Science, Technology and Innovation (Mosti) Minister Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili. He added that both lucrative activities would further complement other modern agricultural activities undertaken in the district, which included stevia (sweet herb) and vanilla cultivation.

“Efforts have been made to promote swiftlet farming as the district is conducive for the birds whose nests can fetch a very high price in the market.
Good yield: Dr Ongkili (standing, centre) and guests including Kota Marudu district officer Luvita Koisun (standing, 12th left) holding up the maize during the launch of the harvesting activity at the Farmer’s Training Centre Damai.
“At the moment, 30 swiftlet hostels have been developed for commercial purposes while 43 projects have been carried out under the e-Kasih list of hardcore poor to generate income for poor rural folks. “With these activities, we hope Kota Marudu’s economic growth will be accelerated, aside from bringing the desirable outcomes of generating income and employment for the people,” said Dr Ongkili, who is also Kota Marudu MP.

Dr Ongkili commented on this at the launch of the district’s annual Pesta Jagung (Maize festival) recently.
Also present were Tandek assemblyman Anita Baranting and Banggi assemblyman Datuk Abdul Mijul Unaini.
The festival, in its 10th year now, is held annually to promote maize as one of the main crops in Kota Marudu and areas surrounding the district. It serves as an avenue to promote various modern technologies to enhance the cultivation of maize as well as other agricultural produce. Various activities carried out in conjunction with the two-day festival included the Ratu Jagung (Maize Queen) contest, stall exhibition by government and private agencies, and telematches like the tug–of–war for visitors.

Mosti is also taking part in the exhibition to showcase technologies developed by its agencies that could be useful for farmers. One such technology was the corn thrasher machine developed by Technology Park Malaysia.

Dr Ongkili, who was also Yayasan Inovasi Malaysia chairman, also presented 20 units of Idola laptops to the Kota Marudu Girl Guides Association.