Sudan source country for cattle imports to M’sia

April 20, 2010, Tuesday Borneo Post

KUALA LUMPUR: Sudan has become a source country for cattle imports to Malaysia following an agreement by a group of Malaysian companies to import 200,000 live cattle from the African country this year.The number is expected to increase to 400,000 live cattle next year, said Sudan deputy Ambassador to Malaysia Kamal Gubara.

Brahman Cattle In Malaysia

“We consider the exports as a major breakthrough after trying for few years to penetrate the Malaysian market,” he told Bernama in an interview.

The first consignment is expected to arrive in July, said Kamal, who is also Head of the Economic and Trade Section of the Sudanese Embassy in Malaysia.

He said the decision to import cattle from Sudan followed the signing of three memorandums of understanding (MoUs) in Khartoum on March 27 between a group of Malaysian companies and Sudan’s Ministry of Animal Resources, Sudan’s White Nile State and the Chamber of Commerce of the White Nile State.  The signing ceremony was witnessed by Imad Mahmoud, Deputy Undersecretary of the Sudan Ministry of Foreign Trade.

“The Ministry of Animal Resources will provide the necessary help for the cattle to be imported to Malaysia according to international standards,” he said. During the group’s week-long visit to Sudan, they visited cattle farms and met relevant officials and were happy with the quality of Sudanese cattle.

“They were convinced there is big business in this field and decided to import cattle from Sudan. They are also satisfied to find that the rearing, breeding and feeding were done according to halal procedures,” he said. To facilitate the business, Kamal said the group decided to be part of a proposed Malaysian-Sudanese Bank.

They met the Central Bank Governor Dr Sabir Mohammed Hassan who responded positively to the formation of the proposed bank, saying the Central Bank will be glad to facilitate the establishment of the said bank, provided the two sides were ready financially, Kamal said. Once the MoU signed, the group will have a 60 per cent stake in the proposed bank while the remaining 40 per cent will be taken up by some big companies in Sudan.

Kamal said Sudanese cattle are reared in healthy conditions, conforming to international certification, and in natural grazing and fed with organic food. “The beef is considered one of the best with excellent taste. We export to Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Gulf countries, among others,” he said.

Kamal said cattle exports to Malaysia would help increase the volume of bilateral trade between Sudan and Malaysia, probably by two-fold. Bilateral trade stood at RM342 million in 2008 and between January and August 2009, it was RM241 million.

Malaysia’s exports are mainly electrical and electronic products, palm oil and furniture while imports from the north-eastern African country are oil, gum-arabic, sesame seeds and roselle (hibiscus sabdariffa).

Currently, over 50 Malaysian companies are operating in Sudan where Malaysia is the second most important economic partner after China and one of its major investors. — Bernama

Centre launches own brand for meat products : Cattle Farming

PAPAR, Sabah: The Sabah Meat Technology Centre yesterday launched its own brand name for its meat products known as Alapbana or ‘very good’ in Bajau, one of several ethnic groups in Sabah.State Department of Veterinary Services and Animal Industries’ director Datuk Awang Sahak Pg Salleh said the new brand was a step taken by the department to promote and supply halal, clean and fresh meat products in the state.

He said it was also an effort to reduce dependecy on imported meat, especially beef, by producing meat products based on international standards. “Under the 100-Breeder Transformation Programme, about 1,000 dairy cattle were reared yearly by breeders in rural areas,” said Awang Sahak.

“These cattle would then be taken care of by the Sebrang Livestock Breeding Station in Keningau, specifically for the production of high quality Alapbana beef products,” he said at the launch of the SMTC Butcher Shop-Beef Corner where the Alapbana products were being sold.

Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Yahya Hussin, who is also the State Agriculture and Food Industry Minister, officiated the ceremony. The 100-Breeder Transformation Programme was launched in 2005 where every beef and dairy cattle, buffalo, goat and deer farmers reared at least 100 breeds.

Later, Awang Sahak told reporters Sabah was nearly 30 per cent self-sufficent in the production of beef and had targeted 50 per cent self-sufficiency by 2015. “Right now we are importing 6,000 tonnes of beef yearly at a cost of RM48 million,” he said.

Yahya said the Butcher Shop was a good concept to demonstrate proper meat preparation to the public and hoped that more shops selling the Alapbana brand would be opened in all districts in Sabah. He also hoped restaurants and hotels would purchase Alapbana meat products from the Butcher Shop to ensure quality, cleanliness and freshness of food served to customers. — Bernama

Owners of dead cattle allege foul play

TWO cattle owners claim that five of their 70 head of cattle died due to poisoning at a grazing area along the Kinta River in Tanjung Tualang, about 25km from Batu Gajah. “I am surprised by the sudden death of the five cows on Tuesday as traces of blood were found on their mouth and nose, which I believe are signs of poisoning,” said B. Amar Singh 46, one of the cattle owners.
He claimed this was the second time such a thing has happened.

“In January, three buffaloes died under the same circumstances and I lost about RM5,000. This time I lost about RM7,500,” he said. Kesvinder (right) taking a look at one of the dead cows. With him are Amar (left) and Sarjit. Amar Singh claimed that his cows were in good health when they were sent out for grazing in the morning.

Another cattle owner G. Sarjit Singh, 50, said this was the first time in 30 years that such an incident had happened in the area. Sarjit Singh said he lodged a police report over the matter in Batu Gajah on Tuesday. “I lost three buffaloes worth RM6,000 in June last year,” he said.

Three personnel from the Kampar Veterinary Department took samples from the dead cattle for analysis by Veterinary Research Institute, Ipoh to determine the cause of death, he said. Malim Nawar assemblyman Keshvinder Singh said the area that was allotted for cattle grazing was far from the residential area and not suitable to the cattle owners.

He hoped that the government would allow cattle to graze in government-owned oil palm estates due to the shortage of grazing ground in the area. Kinta district officer Datuk Razali Othman said he would investigate the matter.

Cattle Integration with Oil Palm

In order to save cost in maintaining Oil Palm, we should introduce cattle to eat all the available grass/weed in the garden. We can save cost of weeding up to 70% and the cow dungs help to fertilize the soil. Oil Palms are suitable for integration once it reach 5 years old.

Brahman Cattle

This is Brahman Cattle. We are using this breed for Cattle Integration with Oil Palm in the State. Cattle, when introduce to the estate, was proven to reduce weedicide cost by 60%. Its consider a biological control for weed. The Oil Palm production also greatly improved due to soil fertilization by its organic manure.

Buffalo Park Langkawi

Buffalo Park Langkawi is located within a panoramic view of Gunung Raya and Gunung Mat Cincang.Surrounded by paddy field, rubber plantation ang tropical rain forest. It takes about 30 minutes travelling by road from Kuah town and 10 minutes from the Langkawi International Airport.

Portable Milking Machine

Buffaloes enjoy automatic shower

Very tame buffalo

The park consists of over 100 Murrah and swamp Buffaloes. Started in 2007 with 73 heads, the buffaloes are mainly used for milk production. Its production about 6 litter per head per day. The milk is then processed to makee yogurt, ice-cream and flovoured milk. Besides that, visitors have the opportunity to participate in "Agro-tourism" activities such as Buffalo Riding, "Anok" Riding, Cart Riding & Photographing.

http://www.buffaloparklangkawi.com/

Farm to produce ‘green’ energy with cow dung

KENINGAU: The owner of a cattle farm here plans to produce electricity with biogas from cow dung. Yap Yun Fook said: “Besides producing milk, I am also planning to process the cow dung to produce biogas that can be used to generate electricity for my farm,” he told reporters during a working visit by Rural Development Minister Datuk Ewon Ebin at Kg Ansip and Bininin, near here.

In line with his zero waste objective, he turns all the animal waste into fertiliser.
Yap, who also owns an oil palm estate and a durian orchard, said his cattle farm started small in 1982 with only 50 cows as a start-up assistance from the government but now it has more than 4,000 cows.

Meanwhile, Ewon said the farm was one of several he was visiting to hear from the owners how they achieved success in the agriculture sector.Also present during the visit were political secretaries John Chin and Japirin Sahadi, communication secretary Japari Yadam and Ewon’s wife Datin Danna Ontol.