Bird spit coffee? Asia firms seek global appetite for China delicacy

Prized in China for its alleged health benefits for hundreds of years, nests made from swiftlets’ saliva are being mixed into coffee and cereal as the Southeast Asian producers of the delicacy seek to broaden its appeal, and their profit margins. The nests are among the world’s most expensive foods, selling for up to $2,500 a kg and the swiftlets that weave them are indigenous to Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. China consumes almost 90 per cent of all bird’s nests, traditionally eaten in soup, creating an industry that last year recorded $5 billion in sales and which executives expect to double by 2020. Companies such as Malaysia’s Swiftlet Eco Park, one of the country’s largest developers of swiftlet houses, want bigger gains by expanding their product line and market beyond China, where importers can often dictate the price.

Ask anybody in the industry where is your market and they’ll say China and Hong Kong. Everybody is going there. We are looking at new markets, but if I sell raw bird’s nest to Europe or India, they don’t even know how to cook it.

Loke Yeu Loong, Group Managing Director of Swiftlet Eco Park

Southeast Asian swiftlets’ nests are particularly popular in the Lunar New Year festivities, which began in China last week, and are believed to be rich in nutrients that can help digestion, raise libido and improve the immune system. Malaysia is the world’s largest producer of raw nests after Indonesia. Vietnam’s largest birds’ nest producer Yen Viet Joint Stock Co. is also keen to play up the benefits of the delicacy. The company makes cereals and porridge and is investing into scientific research in a bid to increase global sales, said Chief Executive Dang Pham Minh Loan.

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