Sabah News October 28, 2009 14:21 PM Sabah Urged To Learn From Taiwan On Developing Orchid Industry KOTA KINABALU, Oct 28 (Bernama) -- Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Yahya Hussin today urged local orchid producers to learn from Taiwan, which has grown to be the world's largest orchid producer, on how to grow the market here based on the species best suited to Sabah's climate. Yahya, who is also Agriculture and Food Industry Minister, said Sabah was already a land where exotic orchids thrive, with over 1,000 species of orchids growing in the wild, the famous ones being the Slipper Orchid and the Butterfly Orchid. "Besides orchids in the wild, we also have hybrids that have caught the imagination of orchid lovers worldwide. "However, despite this diversity, I am informed that Sabah ironically remains a net importer of cut orchid flowers with florists and hotels displaying blooms that are likely to have orginated from the peninsula," he said when opening an orchid exhibition at Star City complex, here. He said that the Sabah Development Corridor (SDC) master plan called for the acceleration of the state's agricultural sector through emphasis on high-value and high potential products such as aquaculture, non-timber products and horticulture, which includes orchid cultivation. Thus, the orchid exhibition from today until Oct 31, which promotes Taiwan's orchids and features famous species like the Moth Orchid, was a good opportunity for local orchid enthusiasts to exchange knowledge with their Taiwanese counterparts and learn from the experts, he said. -- BERNAMA