KUALA LUMPUR, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Following the full establishment of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area on Jan. 1 this year, in which tariffs on various products have been brought down to zero, Malaysian bird's nest traders have seen the great potential in China's vast market.
Beh Heng Seong, president of the Malaysian Federation of Bird's Nest Merchants Associations, made this remark in an interview with Xinhua on Wednesday from northern Malaysia.
Beh said in the past Malaysian bird's nest traders had to pay a 25-percent tariff and 17-percent Value-added Tax (VAT) for bird's nests exported to China.
However, they now only pay the 17 percent VAT after being granted the tariff-free status early 2009, said Beh.
Beh, also owner of Tian Ma Bird's Nest Sdn Bhd, said China did not produce a large volume of bird's nests given its geographical location and climate, but bird's nests enjoyed high demand due to its nutritional properties in China.
While bird's nests had been widely picked as gifts for relatives and friends during festive seasons, Beh said, it was a common phenomena to see the product running short in these seasons in China.
Therefore, Malaysian bird's nests were among those products which have the strong competitive edge in the bilateral trade between China and Malaysia, said Beh.
Bird's nests trading receives high attention from the Malaysian government, Beh said. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak hadbeen encouraging Malaysians to get involved in the bird's nest industry.
Beh also said that starting April 1, 2009, the Veterinary Services Department under Malaysian Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Ministry were tasked to oversee the development of the bird's nest industry in Malaysia.
Although the history of the bird's nest industry in Malaysia was not as long as that in Indonesia, Beh said, it was growing fast.
Beh pointed out that there were 40,000 swallow houses in Malaysia with some 8,000 people taking part in swallow farming activities.
He also highlighted that Malaysia's annual production of bird's nests had reached 1 billion ringgit (290 million U.S. dollars) in value and was expected to hit 5 billion ringgit (1.47 billion U.S. dollars) in another five years.
Meanwhile, Beh explained that Malaysian bird's nests were mainly produced in the swallow houses but the Thailand and Indonesian bird's nests were mostly found in the caves.
While the quality of bird's nests were determined by the food swallows consumed and their living environment, Beh stressed that the quality of bird's nests from the caves and swallow houses were more or less the same.
This was because the birds shared similar living conditions, with flying insects being their main source of food, added Beh.
The Malaysian Federation of Bird's Nest Merchants Associations has more than 1,000 members. Beh welcomed Malaysians to join the bird's nest industry to boost the bilateral trade between China and Malaysia and contribute more to Malaysia's trade surplus with China.
Special Report: China-ASEAN FTA
