Production of Vinegar from Nipah Palm can Provide Good Returns for SME Entrepreneurs

KUCHING (Sarawak,Malaysia), June 23 (Bernama) -- Small Medium Enterprise (SME)entrepreneurs, particularly those from the coastal areas of Sarawak, can enhance their income by being involved in the production of vinegar from the juice of the nipah palm. The Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister's Department (Bumiputera Entrepreneur Development) Mohd Naroden Majais said on Saturday that the vinegar is now a raw material of high value in Europe's pharmaceutical industry. He said to date, he had observed SMEs in the state only selling the juice from the nipah palm as a drink known as 'Air Sadap', which had little value. "But when the juice from the nipah palm is processed into vinegar, its value can reach thousands of ringgit per litre compared to just drinking it," he added. Mohd Naroden said this while officiating the Entrepreneurs Carnival and Crafts Malaysia Promotion, organised by the Malaysian Handicraft Development Corporation here on Saturday. He said the nipah palm for the industry to produce the vinegar grew widely along the hundreds of kilometres of shoreline in the state. He said the state government had made available facilities such as guidance courses, funding and marketing promotions, towards assisting the SME entrepreneurs develop their business. Mohd Naroden said this assistance was in line with the role of SMEs in Malaysia having contributed about 52 per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country. "The acceptance of local goods in the global market had also succeeded in driving the growth of SMEs in Malaysia," he added. -- BERNAMA