TEMPO.CO, Lubuklinggau-Swallow nest production in Lubuklinggau, South Sumatra and surrounding areas fell under after haze pollution covered the area in recent months.
Besides lower production, quality and shape of nests are smaller because of the birds had difficulty in finding food in the haze, said a bird nest businessman in Lubuklinggau Yansen on Sunday, November 1.
Yansen explained that every harvest he usually can get 20 kilograms of a swallow's nest, but in the past three months production had dropped by half. Some birds even migrated, he said.
However, market price tend to rise. For the bowl-type nest the price is now Rp 8 million per kilogram from previously between Rp5 and 7 million per kilogram.
The price of bird's nest had always fluctuated widely, but it is still considered a quite prospective business.
Yansen said swallow nest is harvested usually between five to six months depending on the number of swallows, but lately the number of birds nesting in his warehouse had gone down.
“I hope rain will soon come, so the bird nest business can return back to normal production. The haze has not only devastate the bird's nest business, but other businesses too,” he said.
ANTARA
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