Bringing Kien Giang bird's nest to conquer the world market

Vice President of the Vietnam Bird Nest Association Pham Duy Khiem said that Vietnam currently has about 24,000 bird nest farms, with an output of 150 - 200 tons/year, of which Kien Giang leads the country with more than 3,000 bird nest farms, creating a fairly large bird nest material area. However, most of Kien Giang bird nests are only consumed domestically or exported informally.

Processing bird's nest at the production facility of Fanza Bird's Nest Limited Company (Ha Tien City).

MORE THAN 3,000 SWALLOW FARMERS

The commercial bird's nest farming industry in Kien Giang has been developing since 2003, with the first bird's nest houses appearing in Rach Gia City. Over the past two decades, the number of bird's nest houses in the province has increased rapidly, surpassing the 3,000 mark, mainly concentrated in Rach Gia City, Ha Tien City and the districts of Hon Dat, Kien Luong, Chau Thanh and An Minh. Rach Gia City is currently the locality with the largest number of bird's nest houses in the province with more than 800 houses.

Not only has the quantity of bird's nests in Kien Giang grown strongly, the quality of bird's nests in Kien Giang has been highly appreciated by experts. According to Malaysian experts, Vietnamese bird's nests have a distinctive aroma, high nutritional content, and are popular in the world market. This opens up great opportunities for Kien Giang bird's nests to access potential markets such as China, Korea, Japan, Europe and North America. However, the reality shows that most of the bird's nest output is currently only consumed domestically or exported informally, through intermediary businesses.

Mr. Le Van Tai - General Director of Thuan An Import-Export Development Investment Joint Stock Company - the unit that is promoting the introduction of Kien Giang bird's nests to the Chinese market, said that he was very impressed with the quality of bird's nests in Rach Gia City, Ha Tien City and Hon Dat District after a field survey.

Many bird’s nest processing facilities here have invested systematically, achieved ISO standards and the necessary certifications to serve export. To go further, these businesses need to quickly complete legal procedures, meeting the strict standards of international partners. At the same time, they need support from management agencies to remove policy barriers and expand cooperation opportunities with large markets.

Some bird's nest houses in Vo Truong Toan street area (Rach Gia city).

Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment Le Huu Toan said that the province has all the favorable conditions to develop the bird nest farming industry. However, professional and systematic development is the decisive factor for success. Bird nest farmers not only need in-depth knowledge of the biological characteristics of this bird species but also must strictly follow the technical processes from the design of bird houses, installation of equipment, attraction, care to harvesting of bird nests to ensure quality and disease safety.

APPLYING MODERN TECHNOLOGY

To improve production efficiency, many households raising swiftlets have invested in modern equipment such as sound systems to attract swiftlets, automatic humidification systems, remote monitoring equipment, etc. Thanks to that, the productivity and quality of bird's nests have been significantly improved, helping the products meet the increasingly high demands of the market. Some businesses have boldly invested in processing factories according to international standards such as ISO, HACCP, ensuring a closed processing process, increasing product value.

However, according to general assessment, the bird's nest farming industry in Kien Giang is still small-scale, fragmented and unprofessional. Many bird's nest farming households operate spontaneously, not following common standards, leading to inconsistent bird's nest quality, making it difficult to build a brand. This is the biggest barrier when accessing foreign markets, where import standards are strictly controlled.

According to Ms. Hoang Duc Nha - Director of Du Long Bird Nest Company Limited (Rach Gia City), the retail price of raw bird nests currently ranges from 1.4 - 1.6 million VND/100g, feathered bird nests from 2.5 million VND/100g, and A5-shaped pre-processed bird nests are about 3 million VND/100g. For export products, the price of standard raw bird nests ranges from 18 - 25 million VND/kg, while dry pre-processed bird nests are priced from 35 - 45 million VND/kg depending on customer requirements. Despite its high value, due to lack of official export, Kien Giang bird nests have not yet fully exploited their potential, most products are still only consumed domestically or through entrusted enterprises for informal export to China.

Workers refine bird's nests at Du Long Bird's Nest Company Limited (Rach Gia City).

According to Director of the Department of Industry and Trade of Kien Giang Province, Truong Van Minh, promoting official exports will help Kien Giang’s bird’s nest industry improve its position, optimize product value and expand the market. However, to do this, there needs to be a close connection between bird’s nest farmers, processing enterprises and management agencies.

In order for Kien Giang bird's nest to reach further in the world market, professionalizing the production process, applying modern technology and ensuring quality standards are prerequisites. At the same time, businesses also need to invest heavily in building brands, promoting products and expanding distribution channels. If there is a methodical development strategy, not only the Chinese market but also countries such as Japan, Korea, the US or Europe will become potential destinations for Kien Giang bird's nest.

Article and photos: KIEU DIEM

* Lesson 2: Removing barriers.

Source: https://www.baokiengiang.vn/kinh-te/dua-yen-sao-kien-giang-chinh-phuc-thi-truong-the-gioi-25294.html