SERIAN, Aug 19: Sarawak successfully exported livestock commodities and livestock products worth more than RM165 million in 2019.
These include 56,050 live pigs worth RM56.27 million and 219 tonnes of pork worth RM17 million to Singapore; 50 million chicken eggs worth RM14.1 million to Hong Kong, Maldives, Indonesia and Brunei; 257 tonnes of chicken worth RM1.9 million to Indonesia and Peninsular Malaysia ; 2.75 million of chicks worth RM7.7 million to Brunei and 9.5 tons of swiftlet nests worth RM68 million to Hong Kong, China and Taiwan.
“This shows that Sarawak has the potential and it is good to generate income because there is a large market locally and abroad,” said Agriculture, Native Land, and Regional Development Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas today.
He said that Sarawak had excellent potential to produce livestock as well as livestock products for export due to the state being free from livestock diseases such as HFMD, African Swine Flu (ASF), and Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI).
“Because of this, it allows us to export livestock or livestock products abroad without restrictions. Therefore, I call on all of you to develop your respective projects wholeheartedly and take this opportunity to increase your output because there is a huge market potential not only in Serian or Kuching but also neighboring cities in Kalimantan, Indonesia,” he added.
He was speaking at a presentation ceremony at Kampung Pichin, Tebakang this morning, where a total of 182 smallholders and farmers who participated in the Sarawak government’s livestock and agricultural projects received various types of inputs under the Sarawak government’s Agriculture Facilitation Program (AFP).
Among the input received were beverage troughs, chicks and ducklings, twitter (sound equipment) for swiftlet projects, worm medicine and vitamins for pig projects and salt (mineral block) for cattle and goat projects as well as Musang King durian seedlings for durian projects.
Under the livestock project, the number of participants for swiftlets are 16; pig (1); goat (6); chicken (6); hybrid chicken (2); duck (18); duck eggs (7) and cattle (2). Participants in the agricultural project consisted of fish (23); kelulut honey(10); Musang King durian (70); corn and chilli (11).
The value approved for each participant depends on the type of project ranging between RM5,000 to RM20,000 for livestock, and between RM420 to RM15,000 per person for agriculture.
The assistance was meant to help rural farmers increase their production and household income as well as to purchase approved inputs such as building materials for livestock pens, equipment including food and medicines for livestock and Musang King saplings.—DayakDaily
