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Nipah is a promising source of sugar, alcohol and 
vinegar, whilst the leaves are very valuable for the 
production of roofing material, known as “ attap.” 
The sap is obtained by tapping the stalk of the 
partially ripe fruit, which varies from 3 to 5 ft. in 
length. Since the inflorescence of the nipah palm 
is near the ground, the spathe is conveniently 
situated for the collection of the sap. Some time 
after the fruit is formed the stalk is cut across the 
top just below the fruit, and each day a thin slice of 
the stalk is removed to keep the wound fresh, thus 
rendering the flow of sap more or less continuous. 
The nipah palm in Malaya differs from that in the 
Philippines in respect of the fruiting, which is not 
definitely seasonal in this country. 
Until quite recently, no attempt had been made in 
this country to exploit nipah, but during the last 
two years it has received the serious attention of 
many members of the planting community. 
Statistics and general information, such as yield 
of sap and sugar content, are at present being 
collected by the Department. A preliminary report 
on the information so far obtained has already been 
published. 
The volume of sap shows great variation, as much 
as a gallon per day having been obtained by tapping 
three spathes on one palm, while others with one 
spathe have given only a few ounces daily. 
The sugar content of the sap has also been found 
to vary between wide limits, as much as 23 per cent, 
being found in some samples, and as little as 8 per 
cent, in others. 
