Delegates cutting the ribbons for official export of bird's nests to the Chinese market. — VNA/VNS Photo Vũ Sinh

HÀ NỘI — A ceremony was held in the northern border province of Lạng Sơn to announce the export of the first batch of bird’s nest products to China following a protocol signed in November of 2022 between the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and the Chinese General Administration of Customs.

The products are manufactured by AVANEST Vietnam Nutrition Joint Stock Company - the first Vietnamese allowed to provide processed bird’s nests and cooked bird’s nest pots to China.

The event marked an important milestone for the Vietnamese agricultural sector as well as the bird’s nest industry in penetrating the world's largest bird’s nest consumption market with a demand of more than 300 tonnes per year, accounting for about 80 per cent of the global consumption.

Chinese data showed that China imported 220 tonnes of bird’s nests in 2020, more than 300 tonnes in 2021 and 425 tonnes in 2022, mostly from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and now Việt Nam.

In Việt Nam, bird nest farming for commercial purposes is a new industry started in 2004 in the Southern provinces, developing rapidly over the last decade.

Currently, 42 out of 63 provinces engage in bird's nest farming, with over 22,000 bird's nest houses. Việt Nam's annual bird's nest output is about 150 tonnes worth over US$600 million. With the effectiveness of the protocol with China, the Vietnamese bird's nest industry has many opportunities for development.

At the ceremony, a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in bird’s nest export was signed between the Bird’s Nest Associations of Bình Định Province, Gia Lai Province’s Quảng Đà and Chư Sê districts, An Giang Province and Quảng Ngãi Province and AVANEST Vietnam Nutrition Joint Stock Company.

Under the deal, the associations will provide raw materials to AVANEST Vietnam for processing for export. Meanwhile, the firm will supply the associations with training on farming and harvesting techniques as well as management tools serving their operations. — VNS