KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is among the top five countries with an industry producing swiftlet birds’ nests, the Dewan Rakyat was told Dec 3.
Agriculture and Agro-Based Industries Deputy Minister Sim Tze Tzin named the other countries as Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines.
‘’This is a very valuable industry. It’s like our national treasure. In this context, the incidence of haze which causes air pollution has a negative impact on the industry,’’ he said during Question Time.
Sim, replying to a question from Wong Ling Biu (PH-Sarikei) on the impact of the haze on the output of the bird’s nest industry, said the haze affects the food sources of the swiftlets and results in the low production of saliva.
‘’A prolonged and serious incident of haze will be a setback for the industry because the swiftlets will move to less polluted areas,’’ he added.
According to Sim, the export of bird’s nests was worth RM1.3 bil last year and RM921 mil in the first 10 months of this year. – Bernama
