KUCHING, April 23: Sarawak, with the help of RH Bee Farm, a subsidiary of Rimbunan Hijau Sdn Bhd, is now the biggest kelulut (stingless bee) honey producer in Malaysia.
Located at Nanga Dap and Tanjung Manis, the farm has more than 10,000 stingless bee colonies, inside Acacia mangium forests in the state.
RH Bee Farm currently produce two tonnes of kelulut honey on a monthly basis.
Minister of Agriculture, Native Land and Regional Development Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas said RH Bee Farm is a potential anchor company, to collect kelulut honey from smallholders and to supply to the domestic and international market.
“Apart from honey production, RH Bee Farm also processes propolis and pollen into other downstream products. At this moment, they are trying to penetrate and promote kelulut honey in China, Singapore, Japan and Middle East markets.
“According to them, the demand for kelulut honey from China itself is minimum 10 tonnes per month. So I highly encourage farmers or entrepreneurs to consider diversifying into kelulut farming,” Uggah said at signing ceremony for the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the state government, represented by Department of Agriculture (DOA) and Rimbunan Hijau Sdn Bhd.
With the MoU, RH Bee Farm can promote and enhance the development of the kelulut honey industry in the state, such as producing quality kelulut honey, promoting kelulut honey in domestic and export markets, implementing research and development, and facilitate the exchange of knowledge and innovative technology. — DayakDaily
