PUTRAJAYA: As Kelantan is recuperating from the H5N1 (Bird's Flu) outbreak, China has lifted its temporary ban on clean, edible bird's nest imported from Malaysia, confirmed the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS).
Its director-general Datuk Dr Quaza Nizamuddin Hassan Nizam said he's met his counterpart in Beijing recently and the Chinese government had agreed to lift the temporary ban on the import of clean edible bird's nest from Malaysia.
Nineteen bird's nest processing plants will benefit from this move, with an estimated market worth RM134 million a year in China.
"The condition set on us is that all our processing plants must use the heat treatment in processing the bird's nest," said Dr Quaza, adding there must also be training on the proper procedures for the heat treatment."
The Chinese officials had also visited several of the plants, he revealed.
"I will issue letters of certification to all 19 processing plants so that they can start exporting clean bird's nest to China again," he added.
Malaysia is currently the world's second largest producer of bird's nest after Indonesia, producing an estimated 25 tonnes per month.
Based on earlier reports, the swiftlet farming industry is expected to contribute RM4.5 billion to the country’s gross national income by 2020.
However, Dr Quaza said China had yet to approve the import of raw, uncleaned bird's nest from Malaysia.