Taking advantage of the climate and rich ecosystem of the highlands, for many years now, the bird's nest farming industry in Gia Lai (old) has developed quite strongly, especially in localities such as Pleiku, Chu Se, Duc Co, Ayun Pa...
In particular, Yen Xuan Cao Nguyen Development Joint Stock Company (No. 161 Le Duan, Hoi Phu Ward) is one of the pioneers in processing and commercializing bird's nest products.
Ms. Doan Thi Thanh Huong - Company representative - said: "Since 2022, the Company has built 5 birdhouses. To have raw materials for processing, we also cooperate with 12 birdhouse households in the area. Currently, the Company has about 20 product lines such as raw bird's nest, refined bird's nest, bird's nest in jars... Of which, 10 products are certified with 3-star OCOP".
Thanks to the focus on quality and methodical brand building, the Company's bird's nest products have been trusted by consumers and are present in most provinces and cities across the country.
Ms. Huong said: Achieving OCOP certification is an important turning point in the journey of enhancing the brand, creating trust among consumers, and expanding opportunities for sustainable development in the bird's nest industry. The company is completing documents to upgrade raw and refined bird's nest products to 4-star OCOP and building OCOP certification for the remaining 10 bird's nest jar products.
“I hope that departments, branches and local authorities will continue to organize more connection programs, helping the Company as well as bird nest farming households have the opportunity to promote their products, reach out to customers widely, especially for export. At the same time, there will be standards in evaluating and announcing product quality to create trust for customers.”
Ms. Nguyen Thi Nguyen (in Group 4, Duc Co Commune) is also a pioneer in the bird nest farming profession in the border area. Starting in 2017 with a few small bird nest houses, she has now developed a system of 5 bird nest houses, with an annual output of over 100 kg of raw bird nests. She also invested in deep processing of refined bird nests, labeling the origin with the brand name "Nguyen Viet Bird Nest".
In 2023, Ms. Nguyen's family will have 2 product lines of raw and refined bird's nests that have achieved 3-star OCOP certification. She also uses traceability stamps to increase product reliability.
Thanks to that, the product has been positively received by the market, with prices ranging from 10 to 18 million VND/kg for raw bird's nest and 2.5 to 3.5 million VND/kg for refined bird's nest. Each year, her family's revenue reaches nearly 2 billion VND. After deducting expenses, she earns more than 600 million VND.
Similarly, after nearly 7 years of raising swiftlets, Ms. Nguyen Hai Yen’s family (Chu Bo 1 village, Ia Dok commune) now has 2 houses raising swiftlets. Each year, she harvests more than 50 kg of products.
She said: “Currently, I supply two product lines to the market, including raw bird’s nest and refined bird’s nest. Notably, in 2024, my family’s raw bird’s nest products were certified as 3-star OCOP and participated in many supply-demand connection programs organized by departments, branches, and localities. Thanks to that, the consumption market has been expanded. Every year, my family earns nearly 500 million VND in profit.”
No longer a single production activity, bird nest farmers in Gia Lai have formed an association to connect, share experiences and support each other. A typical example is the Chu Se District Bird Nest Association - where there are more than 266 bird nest houses with 257 participating households.
According to Mr. Pham Tien Dung - Chairman of Chu Se District Bird's Nest Association: Currently, there are 10 bird's nest products in the area recognized as meeting OCOP standards (including 9 3-star OCOP products and 1 4-star OCOP product).
Mr. Dung started raising swiftlets in 2014 with 7 swiftlet houses, each year harvesting about 400 kg of swiftlets. Recently, the price of swiftlets on the market has tended to decrease due to competition with smuggled swiftlet products imported through unofficial channels from Indonesia and Malaysia.
“Previously, the price of bird’s nest fluctuated between 19 and 23 million VND/kg of raw bird’s nest, but now it is only about 8 to 13 million VND. This greatly affects the income and psychology of farmers,” said Mr. Dung.
Although the Chu Se District Bird's Nest Association has dissolved to comply with the new administrative boundaries after the merger, its members still maintain connections and are promoting the re-establishment of the Chu Se Commune Bird's Nest Association.
Mr. Dung expressed his hope that the authorities would support people in building OCOP products, enhancing their own brands, especially supporting access to export markets - an inevitable direction in the context of increased output but narrowed domestic output.
Similarly, Ms. Nguyen Thi Nguyen also expressed her concern about the increasing number of fake and poor quality bird's nest products appearing on the market. "I hope that the authorities will soon issue a specific set of criteria to evaluate and publicize the quality of bird's nest products. That will not only protect consumers but also help protect the reputation of real producers who do business seriously like us," Ms. Nguyen suggested.
Gia Lai Province (old) has 1,451 bird nest farms with an output of about 7,000 kg/year. This is an important profession, producing products with high nutritional value, creating a significant source of income for breeders, creating new values and value chains, contributing significantly to people's health care and building new rural areas.
In order to expand the types of exported bird's nest products, on April 15, 2025, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment of Vietnam and the General Administration of Customs of China signed a Protocol on quarantine, inspection and veterinary hygiene requirements for the import of raw bird's nest and clean bird's nest from Vietnam to China (replacing the Protocol signed in 2022).
Talking to reporters, Mr. Doan Ngoc Co - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Gia Lai province - said: In order for the bird's nest farming profession to bring economic efficiency, have great competitiveness in the market, and meet export needs, it is necessary to develop production according to the product chain, linking from production to processing and consumption.
In addition, it is necessary to focus on improving product quality and value, innovating production technology and designing eye-catching packaging and labels. Strengthening the introduction and promotion of OCOP products through trade fairs, exhibitions, on media channels and connecting with suppliers and major customers...
“In the coming time, the Department of Agriculture and Environment will continue to preside over and coordinate with the Department of Industry and Trade, the Department of Science and Technology to proactively support and accompany people and businesses in OCOP programs, technology innovation programs, trade promotion... At the same time, support connecting production entities with consumption channels of bird's nest products, creating a complete value chain from production to consumption of OCOP products".
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Source: https://baogialai.com.vn/nang-tam-san-pham-yen-sao-gia-lai-post560066.html
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