Staff Reporter 2013-11-18 14:58 (GMT+8)
Laboring under the impact of a 2-year import ban from China, Malaysia's budding bird's nest industry waits for the lift to materialize.
Ma Juicheng, chairman of the bird's nest industry association in Kuala Lumpur, said that after a field investigation by Chinese experts, the government has pledged to allow eight enterprises to export their products to China again. The import licenses have yet to be issued.
Bird's nests are considered a delicacy and are used in a range of Chinese cuisine.
The embargo, leveled in 2011 after quality problems, has dealt a severe blow to Malaysia's bird's nest industry. According to the Chinese-language China Business News, the industry, bloated with around 60,000 establishments, is overstocked. The price of a bird's nest has dropped to MYR$1,500 (US$470) per kilo, down from MYR$6,000(US$3,750) two years ago.
Since July 2011, exports from Malaysia has plunged 90%, with only Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore still in the market. Inventory has hit several hundred tons. Malaysian officials, including premier Najib Tun Razak, have repeatedly lobbied the Chinese government to lift the embargo before the sector collapses.
In April, a team of six Chinese experts arrived in Kuala Lumpur for a two-week investigation. Eight local companies out of the 15 covered by the team passed the investigation, kindling hope for resumed trade. Despite the 'pass,' the Chinese government is still holding back the issuance of import licenses, half a year after the trip.
The Malaysian government has provided all the materials requested by China, including hygiene standard checks, qualify certifications, and quarantine certificates. Lu Yirong, chairman of Malaysia's bird's nest industry association, said that China's huge market is critical for the industry, which has an annual output of 400 tons of bird's nests, or an estimated 52 million nests. Malaysia's population only reaches 28 million, with the total number of potential consumers topping only 50 million, after taking foreign tourists into account.
Lu urged the Malaysian government to institute a source-tracking system, under which every bird's nest can be tracked to the production site, to assure product quality once the product reenters the Chinese market. He said that, in view of the importance of the Chinese market, the industry cannot afford to make another mistake, which would bring down the entire industry.
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