Friday, November 13, 2015

Malaysian bird-nest product maker in $200 mln distribution agreements

KUALA LUMPUR Nov 8 (Reuters) - Malaysia's Swiftlet Eco Park Group (IPO-SWEP.N), one of the country's largest makers of products developed from edible bird nests, has signed distribution agreements worth $200 million to sell its products to China, India and the United Arab Emirates.

The company, which makes coffee, skin care products, puddings and candies with nests made from swiftlets' saliva, on Saturday made the agreements with Hong Kong Yooly International Trading Company, India's Knight Associates and Dubai's Total Support Holdings respectively, it said in a statement.

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Export licence for bird’s nests takes only 3 days to process

THE delay in issuing export licences for edible bird’s nests (EBN) is a non-issue as it only takes three days to complete, according to Second Minister of Resource Planning and Environment Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hassan.

“The process of issuing export permits for bird’s nest is quite simple. The applicant needs to be in possession of a valid licence from Sarawak Forestry Corporation to sell bird’s nest.

“As of May 2013, the government has issued a total of 3,526 licences in Sarawak for the purpose of exporting bird’s nest,” Awang Tengah revealed in his winding up speech at the sitting of the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) yesterday.

Touching on the matter which was brought up by Repok assemblyman Dr Wong Hua Seh, the minister added that there was no monopoly in the export of edible bird’s nest (EBN) in Sarawak.

He said the state government was aware of the problem of exporting to China.

The Chinese government had restricted the import of bird’s nest into the country and took precautions against the inflow of EBN products. The Malaysian government via the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry had proposed that several conditions to be adhere by local EBN exporters to export the commodity to China.

These included proper certification such as HACCP and GMP from the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) and Ministry of Health as well as identification (ID) registration from the DVS for traceability.

The aforementioned mechanism was still under due consideration until finalisation of auditing by China Certification and Accreditation Association, China Entry Exit Inspection and Chinese Academy of Inspection and Quarantine (CNCA), the minister said.



Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/05/28/export-licence-for-birds-nests-takes-only-3-days-to-process/#ixzz3r5VcR2zp

Three processing establishment may able to export bird’s nest to China

KUCHING: Three bird’s nest processors from Sarawak has successfully audited by CNCA and may get approval from Chinese authorities to export the commodity directly to China.

Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in Kuching, Liu Quan, said as many as 16 farmers nationwide had been given the licence to export bird’s nest directly to the republic, including the Sarawakian.

China had, in July 2011, banned all bird’s nest products from Malaysia, resulting in a huge drop in its price – from RM5,000 per kg to RM2,000. Liu Quan, who made a working visit to The Borneo Post recently, said China would be a huge market for bird’s nest industry and hoped that local farmers would not pack it in easily.

“The farmers should strive to fulfil the terms outlined by the Chinese government.

“The bright future of this industry lies in the fact that a bird’s nest centre is now being built at Qingzhou Industrial Zone,” he said.

Liu Quan disclosed that there were two ways for bird’s nest to enter China, the first of which would be via Hong Kong.

“The other way is to export directly into China, by applying for the necessary permit and meeting all the requirements including producing bird’s nest products with nitrate of less than 34 ppm (parts per million),” he said.

Meanwhile, Sarawak Bird’s Nest Import and Export Association president Liu Thian Leong confirmed that there were three processors from Sarawak may qualified to export their products to China. He attributed this to the situation where many local operators found the procedures to export bird’s nest to China ‘too tedious’, or the requirements ‘too stringent to comply with’.

“Many of us prefer to export raw bird’s nest to Hong Kong. Being a place that produces this commodity, there are many buyers coming here including those from China and Peninsular Malaysia to purchase bird’s nest directly from our farmers.

“The price of bird’s nest has recovered a bit, although it is still low compared to its price of RM5,000 per kilogramme before the ban,” said Thian Leong, adding that another factor for the low price was abundance of supply.

Swiftlet farms can be seen across Sarawak, especially in the rural areas of the state’s central region. Sarawak Bird’s Nest Import and Export Association – touted as the oldest bird’s nest traders guild in Malaysia – now has more than 100 members, the majority of whom are from Sibu and Mukah.



Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2015/10/27/only-one-sarawakian-permitted-to-export-birds-nest-to-china/#ixzz3r5SZoAXY