By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Aug 19: Sarawak hopes to learn from Denmark’s pig farming system as a strategy to develop that State’s pig industry, while exploring investment opportunities with the aim of expanding its role as a net food exporter by 2030 beyond its current live pig exports to Singapore and Selangor.
In a statement, Sarawak Minister of Food Industry, Commodity, and Regional Development Dato Sri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom said this followed a delegation led by him to arrange visits and negotiations with the industry in Denmark.
The aim of the visit, which was held from Aug 8-17, was to observe chicken and pig slaughterhouses in Denmark to learn about the latest slaughtering technology and best practices; study Denmark’s pig industry, its foot-and-mouth disease- (FMD) and African Swine Fever- (ASF) free status and ASF prevention strategies; and to explore and learn from Denmark’s robotic technology in livestock farming and pig breeding technology.
“Through this working visit, Sarawak targets to reach RM1 billion in pig export value by 2030, once its three major pig producers are fully operational,” he said.
Among the places visited while in Denmark were:
- Big Dutchman, which is a world-leading company in livestock equipment and feed processing.
- The Danish Food and Veterinary Council to discuss on border control and transport chain of pig-carrying trucks.
- DanBred headquarters, the largest pig breeding company in Denmark, and a modern pig farm.
- Modular Pig Slaughterhouses and an educational institution (Techocollege) specialising in pig slaughtering, where a discussion was held.
- Danish Finest Chicken, which is a halal poultry processing plant.
- Danish Crown, which is a modern slaughterhouse and processing plant in Europe.
He said that so far, Sarawak has exported 122,400 live pigs worth RM197.6 million to Singapore.
“The pig industry in Denmark contributes 30 per cent to the country’s agricultural sector and is one of the largest pork producers in Europe, with a pig population of 11.45 million in 2024. Denmark exports 90 per cent of its pig production to 140 countries, with Germany and Poland being the main importers,” he said.
The Sarawak delegation also comprised of Deputy Minister of Food Industry, Commodity, and Regional Development Sarawak, Datuk Martin Ben; Sarawak Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) director, Datu Dr Adrian Susin Ambud; Sarawak Agriculture Department director, Dominic Chunggat; SALCRA general manager, Joseph Blandoi; Sarawak Land Development Board (SLDB) general manager, Prof Dr Harry Entebang; Universiti Putra Malaysia Sarawak director, Prof Dr Shahrul Razid Sarbini; Ministry of Food Industry, Commodity, and Regional Development Sarawak head of policy division, David Branch Ambor; DVS deputy director, Dr William Rovina Nating; and Minister’s private secretary, Stephen Ruin.
The visit was facilitated by Dr Sussie William Ketit, who has been appointed as advisor to the Minister of Food Industry, Commodity, and Regional Development Sarawak, to arrange visits and negotiations with the industry in Denmark. — DayakDaily
