Lubok Antu folk urged to research bird’s nest industry
Harvesting bird’s nests could be a lucrative trade for folk living in Lubok Antu district if they are keen to venture into the business, due to the abundance of land in the district.
Lubok Antu MP Datuk William Nyalau Badak urged those interested to do research on, understand and learn how to run bird’s nest harvesting or collecting businesses.
They should also know about what type of income to expect if they venture into the bird’s nest industry.
According to Nyalau, the demand for this traditional health delicacy has risen so much that presently one kilogramme of raw (unprocessed) bird’s nests fetches between RM1,000 and RM3000, while the price of processed nests can go up to RM6,000 per kg.
He also added that the demand for Sarawak- origin bird’s nests from countries such as China is also still very good.
“Sarawak bird’s nests are bigger and considered to be of high quality and HACCP ( Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) certified. That’s why the Chinese love bird’s nests from Sarawak,” he said.
There are 19 processing plants in the country approved to export cleaned bird’s nests to China with two in Kuching and one in Mukah in the Central Region.
Nyalau was speaking to The Borneo Post after visiting a bird’s nest processing centre owned by an entrepreneur from Engkilili located at Jalan Lapangan Terbang on Saturday.
The entrepreneur, Stephen Lukau, told The Borneo Post that bird’s nests from Sarawak are the best in Southeast Asia.
“Many entrepreneurs chose to export raw bird’s nests to countries like Hong Kong. There are also many buyers coming to Sarawak including those from China and Peninsular Malaysia to purchase bird’s nests directly from farmers here,” he said.
Swiftlet farms can be seen across Sarawak, especially in rural parts of the state’s Central Region.