Nogeh: Ensure quality of kelulut honey
BAU: The production and packaging of stingless bee honey will be closely monitored to ensure they are of high quality.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Dato Anthony Nogeh Gumbek said so far there was no problem with the quality of the stingless bee honey better known as ‘madu kelulut’ produced in Malaysia.
“As you can see from the packaging displayed out there, our locally produced stingless bee honey look interesting, healthy, clean and hygienic.
“Of course we will continue to monitor the product so that it is safe for consumption.
“Kelulut honey is a healthy food, very healthy food supplement and we want our consumers to be healthy and at the same time, the people who rear them earn good income,” he told a press conference after launching the Kelulut Agropreneur Workshop here yesterday.
The workshop organised by Malaysian Agriculture Research and Development Institute (Mardi) attracted about 200 participants from Mas Gading parliamentary constituency.
Nogeh who is also Mas Gading MP noted that kelulut honey is a commodity that can be categorised as superfood.
He said the honey which comes from stingless bees contains high amount of nutrients and antioxidants, making it beneficial for health.
“I have met with the 55-yearold ambassador of kelulut honey Pak Sabri Ali from Terengganu, who can walk 50km everyday without stop after consuming kelulut honey.
“Imagine how effective is the stingless bee honey in giving us the energy. That is the advantage of stingless bee honey,” he said.
Nogeh believed there was a huge market for kelulut honey as super food.
He said today, the country’s kelulut honey sales in terms of value has hit RM66 million a year while kelulut honey business can be expanded as stingless bee rearing is easy to do.
“All you have to do is have the boxes containing the colonies and the bees will have to suck the flowers around to produce the honey for you,” he said.
He said stingless bee rearing had also contributed to the country’s forestry industry because this bee is one of the main agents of pollination for various species of wood, which contributes RM4 billion a year to the country’s economy.
“So stingless bee honey rearing is a big industry, and I hope people in Mas Gading and Sarawak at large can become part of this RM66 million industry.
“Don’t worry, the market is still so big and in fact, marketing is not an issue.
“Of course it depends on demand and supply but there are many people in the world who like to take kelulut honey,” he said.
Also present at the ceremony was Serembu assemblyman Miro Simuh, Nogeh’s wife Datin Caroline Jonathan Sabai, Mardi promotions director Hassan Said and Sarawak Mardi director Mohammad Noor Adros.