GOVERNMENT FUNDING THE WALIT BIRD INDUSTRY

Good News for Swiftlet Farming

The walit industry is not new in Malaysia, but over the past few years the harvesting of these birds' nests has been conducted on a commercial scale with lucrative results. In just over a decade, its entrepreneurs have explored new methods and technologies relating to this industry in order to increase production. It is an environmentally-friendly form of plantation based on the green industry concept.

In Malaysia, the walit birds' nest has become one of agriculture's primary commodity exports. This industry is expected to increase as entrepreneurs and the public improve their knowledge on this industry. Raw walit birds' nest per kilogram is estimated to range between RM3,000 - RM7,500 while the processed version can fetch up to RM10,000-RM18,000. The harvesting of these birds’ nests is also now among the largest among the South East Asian countries besides Indonesia. The market demand for birds’ nest comes mainly from Asian countries such as Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Singapore.

In general there are no special funds or products created specifically to finance the walit bird industry in Malaysia. However, Agrobank has approved loans to fund such projects through relevant government and commercial funds.

“In April 2010 the government through the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industries (MoA) allocated part of the low-cost funds amounting to RM67.7 million specifically to fund projects relating to the walit bird industry” added Ahmad Said.
He added, this large allocation of funds would help walit bird entrepreneurs and the members of the public who wished to participate in this lucrative industry.

The detail news may view from the following links:

http://www.agrobank.com.my/press_releases