MALAYSIAN bird’s nests export to China has dropped by up to 40% because of the novel coronavirus outbreak, said dealers.

Stressing that this delicacy has medicinal values to strengthen one’s immune system, they’re hoping that the demand will pick up soon, especially during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Federation of Malaysia Bird’s Nest Merchants’ Association president Allen Tan said orders have declined significantly since the novel coronavirus outbreak.

“Orders and demand have dropped by an estimated 30% to 40%. Usually, demand will drop about 20% after the Lunar New Year celebrations, but the Wuhan virus outbreak has made it worse.

“Demand is expected to pick up again when Father’s Day and Mother’s Day come around, the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the year-end holiday season in November,” Tan told The Malaysian Insight.

This is one of the disadvantages of being focused on Chinese market, as exports to the country itself are much larger than the American, European and Australian markets combined, he said.

“Industry players can only hope to tide over the current slowdown, because consumers who have the habit of eating bird’s nest will continue to buy it,” Tan said.

Online orders have spiked as Chinese consumers are avoiding going outdoors to buy groceries, he said.

“Deliverymen can just place the products at the addresses and consumers don’t need to come into contact with them,” Tan said.

According to the Chinese Academy of Inspection and Quarantine, Malaysia exported 3.09 tonnes of bird’s nests to China in 2014, which grew to 51.8 tonnes by 2019.

There are currently 34 bird’s nest product companies approved to sell in China.

In 2018, China approved the import of raw, unclean bird’s nests from Malaysia for processing there.

Malaysia Association of Bird’s Nest Importers and Exporters chairman Chua Huai Gen said demand for the products typically peak during the Chinese New Year and will start slowing down after the spring holidays, which is now made worse by the Wuhan virus outbreak.

“We are still receiving orders for now because the spring holiday season is not over yet. There will be short-term effects but there is still room for development in the future as bird’s nests are health products,” Chua said.

However, the suspension of several direct flights to China have severely affected logistics in the bird’s nest trade as they have to be air flown, he said.

“Businesses have to arrange for transit flights to export bird’s nests. So far, direct flights to Guangzhou and Shanghai are still available, but the fights to two or three other cities have been suspended and we’ll have to arrange for transit, resulting in higher costs,” Chua said.

Even though bird’s nest is not considered medicine in Western science, the product is considered nutritional and healthy and traditional Chinese medicine.

Chua said studies in China have proven that frequent consumption of bird’s nests may even work better than medicine due to its ability to strengthen one’s immunity system, resulting in natural resistance to common ailments, such as flu and fatigue.

He said the food has also been linked to improved work and learning performance.

“Bird’s nests contain a type of protein that research has proven to have anti-influenza properties and frequent consumption can strengthen the immune system. As they say, prevention is better than cure.”

A research team at Universiti Malaya Medical Centre also said the yield of bird’s nest is limited as they can only be produced during the swiftlets’ breeding season.

In accordance with Malaysian regulations, bird’s nest processing methods do not include chemicals and the nests have to be handpicked, resulting in high labour costs which translate into a higher selling price.

Bird’s nests are also touted for their anti-aging effects and clinical research has proven that the nutritional content in the food has healing properties.

Malaysian bird’s nest exports to China resumed in 2014 and the amount sold there has been steadily increasing each year, turning the country into the main export market of bird’s nests.

Aside from mainland China, bird’s nests are also exported to Taiwan and Hong Kong. – February 11, 2020.