A new business in Endau - Swiftlet Farming for its birdnest, one of the most wanted/expensive Chinese delicacy you can get. The cave swiftlet, is said not to be a native species in this part of the world. Thanks to the continuing forest fires in Indonesia, the swiftlet has found M'sia a safe haven and in the process has brought a sudden windfall (a true "during runtuh") to Malaysia. Swiftlet farming has since become one of the hottest topic here. Everyone is talking about the bird... It is also said that swiftlet farming is slowly taking over fishing business and becoming the main source of income for the locals.
The buying/selling of birdhouse is a big business. From my understanding, a house that can produce a bird nest in one harvest (Endau is harvesting 3.5 time a year, and 4 times in some parts of Malaysia), is priced at 800RM/nest. So a house that can yield 2000 nests, is worth at around 2000 x 800 = 1.6 million + the original property price. If the property worths 400K, then the birdhouses is priced at 2.0 million.
A fast calculation - a kg of birdnest is selling at around 4,800RM (used to be 1000RM+). One kg of raw birdnest consists of around 180-220 of nests. Says 200 pcs for one kg, one pcs is about 24RM. One harvest is around 2000 x 24RM= 48,000RM, and gross income of one year is around 168,000RM. Deducting the running cost, which is quite low, assumes 18K, so net profit is 150K i.e. ROI is around 7.5%, not too bad huh! And it is said that the bird number can only be on the way up, what a wonderful business.
However the the are some risks here
1. It is a business that has not been regulated by government, and I believe it is just a matter of time government will step in. Tax, license, mandatory inspection etc will then play a part and definitely eat into profit of operator.
2. Hygiene issue to neighbor. Just imagine if there is a outbreak of bird flu...
3. Market price has been surging and there is a possibility the raw nest price may be going downward.
4. The birds could be missing its hometown, and could be on it way back to Indonesia once the fire is under control...
5. More bird houses, less forest (mean less insects, or less food for the birds), meaning... more competition to bring in/retain tenants.
It is also rumored that some unethical operators in Thailand has used cocaine contaminated water feeding the swiftlets to retain the birds. Sounds scary, isn't it? Whatever it is, enjoy your birdnest soup.
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| The bird house 燕屋 |
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| The sound system broadcasting the pulling sound, which mimicking the bird singing |
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| My cousin, Michael Heng who owns this birdhouse |
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| Inside the house |
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| A dweller |
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| A cave swiftlet with a nest 洞金丝燕 |
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| The nest. Underneath is a speaker |
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| Darkness in the house |
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| Another look |
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| The swiftlet returning to the house soon after sunset |
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| The end product - selling at ~4,800RM/kg (behind is my 7th auntie.) |
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