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North Sumatra urges businesses to develop more swallow's nest products, increase exports
Indonesia is the world biggest producer of swallow’s nests with an annual production of 200 tons, with North Sumatra contributing around 31 percent to the national swallow’s nest export.
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Indonesia is the world's biggest producer of swallow’s nests with an annual production of 200 tons. (kompas.com/Sukoco)
T
he North Sumatra administration has urged small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the region to develop the downstream sector of the swallow’s nest industry to increase the commodity’s value and provide employment to the people.
Provincial administration secretary Sabrina lauded the SME association and swallow’s nest exporter PT Ori Ginalnest Indonesia for exporting the commodity overseas, but hoped that more end products would be exported in the future.
“We need to increase swallow’s nest exports and develop the downstream products to provide job opportunities,” Sabrina said in a ceremony to launch a shipment of swallow nests at the Medan Metropolitan Trade Center (MMTC), Deli Serdang regency, North Sumatra, on Tuesday.
More than 593 kilograms of swallow’s nests were set to be exported to China, the United States, Australia and France on Tuesday’s shipment.
China was the biggest export destination, with around 517 kilograms of the shipment bound for the cities of Xiamen and Guangzhou.
Indonesia is the world's biggest producer of swallow’s nests with an annual production of 200 tons, with North Sumatra contributing around 31 percent to exports, the province’s Industry and Trade Agency head Zonny Waldi said.
Read also: North Sumatra lures Indian investors to open cattle farms, thread factories
According to the agency’s data, North Sumatra exported 21 tons of swallow’s nests between January and October 2019.
Zonny said the agency set a target to export 35 tons of birds nests in 2020.
Ori Ginalnest Indonesia CEO Rusianah said she supported the provincial administration’s target and was considering recommendations to develop the downstream sector of the product.
“We are optimistic regarding the target, as we already achieved 20 percent of it while still in March,” she said.
North Sumatra saw its agricultural product exports grow in 2019, as the provincial administration’s efforts to support plantation companies contributed to a sharp increase in the exports of agricultural commodities from the province.
According to data provided by the Agriculture Ministry’s Agricultural Quarantine Office, North Sumatra’s agricultural export volume increased by 23.7 percent year-on-year (yoy) in 2019, while its export value rose by 21 percent to Rp 32.2 trillion (US$2.3 billion) from Rp 26.6 trillion in 2018.
The province’s agricultural exports have shown an increasing trend since 2017, when the export value slumped to $654 million, according to Statistics Indonesia (BPS). The province exports a wide range of commodities, such as palm oil, rubber, coffee and sawn timber. (mpr)
