First Vietnamese bird’s nest batch exported to China by air

The batch was the first to be exported to China via the official channel by air since Vietnamese firms were granted export codes for bird’s nest products in October 2023.

The first batch of Hai Yen Company was delivered from Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City.

Tran Thanh Hai, CEO of The Hai Yen, said the company chose air transport to deliver its bird’s nests to ensure the best quality of the product.

It took the company months to negotiate and work to meet standards for raw material, processing, packaging, and transport.

The firm was granted an export code by the General Administration of Customs China in October last year.

Earlier, in November, the first Vietnamese bird’s nests entered this neighboring market via the official channel by land.

Le Thanh Dai, Chairman of the Viet Nam Swiftlet Farming Association, said China is a highly potential market for Vietnamese bird’s nests, and the export via the official channel to this market will create big opportunities for the industry’s sustainable development.

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

In Viet 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.

Viet Nam's annual bird's nest output is about 150 tons worth over US$600 million./.