Deputy chief minister Jeffrey Kitingan said the move to develop the bird’s nest business, will be able to create new jobs for those who lost their jobs because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said this may also lead to mushrooming of side industries from the bird’s nest field. “Side industries can create more jobs for the people, along with the main bird’s nest processing industry,” he said in a statement.

Kitingan, who is in charge of agriculture and fisheries, said the state government will set up a Sabah Bird’s Nest Board for research and development purposes, in order to put in value added quality on bird’s nest products sold in the market currently.

“We cannot only rely on raw bird’s nest products. If we look at the price, the raw bird’s nest cost RM5,000 per kilogram but the processed product can reach up to RM15,000,” he said.

He also said Sabah aims to expand the bird’s nest market beyond China. “My dream is to sell our Sabah bird’s nest as an international brand,” Kitingan added.