RM27 mln approved for 2 more pig farming areas

THE Sarawak government has approved an allocation of RM27 million for establishing additional two pig farming areas (PFAs) in view of the huge potential of the swine industry, Dato Sri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom told the State Legislative Assembly.

The Food Industry, Commodity and Regional Development Minister said the PFAs will be located at Selangau in Sibu division and Samarakan in Bintulu division.

“To date, the site for Selangau PFA has been approved and it is at the final stage of acquiring the land while Samarakan PFA is at the preliminary planning stage,” he said in his ministerial winding-up speech.

He told the august House that the supply of porkers in Sarawak is in the surplus and will continue to be exported mainly to Singapore, Brunei Darussalam and Kalimantan.

“The porkers that are being exported are from the certified Malaysia Good Agriculture Practice (MyGAP) anchor farm at the Pig Farming Area (PFA) Pasir Puteh Simunjan and pork products from our Veterinary Health Mark (VHM) accredited abattoir and processing plant also at Pasir Puteh Simunjan,” he said.

He noted that as of midNovember 2022, a total of 110,200 porkers with an estimated value or RM107.6 million were shipped to Singapore.

“Another 1,500 kilogrammes of pork are transported overland to Brunei Darussalam and Kalimantan on a daily basis and this constitutes a yearly income of around RM13.5 million,” he added.

On the issue of poultry, Dr Rundi said Sarawak is currently self-sufficient in this, with 100 per cent self-sufficiency level (SSL) for eggs and 95 per cent SSL for poultry broilers.

“There are 311 licensed poultry farms in Sarawak consisting of 264 broiler farms, 37 layer farms and 10 poultry breeder farms.

“The current production of poultry broiler is 1,300 metric tonnes per month, while the current average production of eggs is 55 million pieces per month,” he said.

In view of the rising demand for poultry produce domestically as well as from the neighbouring countries, particularly with the proposed relocation of the Indonesia capital to Kalimantan, he said the Sarawak government will continue to develop the poultry industry to establish Sarawak as the main producer of poultry products in the region.

Dr Rundi said his ministry has also undertaken strategic initiatives including the privatisation of livestock stations to intensify the livestock industry in the state.

“To date, three livestock stations have been privatised for commercial ruminant farming involving breeding and fattening purposes.

“The first livestock station that was privatised is Temudok Station, Sri Aman for commercial breeding of sheep and goat. This is followed by Karabungan Station, Miri and Maragang Station, Limbang for commercial production of cattle and buffalo respectively,” he said.

He added that the private firms that have been appointed as the operators for these stations are expected to begin the development of infrastructure and facilities works in early 2023.