In 2010, the world produced 1,514 tons of bird's nest, with Indonesia producing more than 67% and Malaysia more than 23%.

The Blood Bird's Nest incident in 2011 affected the production of bird's nests, and there was no significant increase in production for several years after that. edible bird's nests were sold in Indonesia at a price of between US$1,000 and US$10,000 per kilogram in 2016.

Major origins

The main origins of bird's nests range from the Philippines in the east to the caves of nearby deserted islands off the coast of Myanmar in the west, with the majority in the waters around Southeast Asia, such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Sandakan, Singapore, and Thailand, as well as China's South China Sea islands. Among them, Indonesia is the most suitable place for swallows to live due to its weather and environment, so the quality of Indonesian bird's nests is the best and the production of Indonesian bird's nests is also the largest, followed by Malaysia.

According to statistics, as of the end of 2010, Indonesian bird's nest accounted for 85%-90% of the global production of bird's nest, Malaysia accounted for 5%-10%, Thailand 3%, Vietnam and the Philippines about 2% (refer to the Hong Kong Trade Development Council for several years). A subspecies of Javanese swiftlet, Cfuciphagagem ani, has been harvested from the island of Tachiu in South Yan, which can produce edible bird's nests.

The short-billed swiftlet is found in southwestern China and southeastern Xizang, and the earliest detailed records of this species are found in the "Materia Medica Biyao" and "Ben Jing Feng Yuan". There are six species of swiftlet that can produce nests, including the Apodidae (Apodidae), the Collocalia (Collocalia), the many species of birds that secrete saliva mixed with their down and condense on cliffs and cliffs, or in farmhouses.

Expanded Information:

Nutritional Value

Bird's Nest Acid. The most important nutrient in bird's nest is salivary acid, which can be up to about 10%. As the natural ingredient with the highest content of sialic acid, sialic acid is sometimes called "bird's nest acid".

Protein. It is generally believed that the protein content of high quality bird's nest is more than 55%. Different literatures have determined that the protein content of high quality bird's nest is around 63%. Accordingly, merchants often advertise that the protein content of bird's nest is 4 times that of egg (about 12.6g/100g of protein and 74.6% of water). However, considering the low water content of bird's nest (about 7~9%) and the fact that water is often added to make sugar soup for consumption, the actual protein value is comparable to that of eggs.

Carbohydrates. The carbohydrate content of bird's nest is about 27%.

Inorganic elements. Bird's nest has a high content of inorganic elements, including significantly higher levels of sodium, calcium, magnesium and potassium, but bird's nest also contains small amounts of mercury, lead, chromium and other heavy metal elements.

Bird's nest is low in fat. In addition bird's nest also contains vitamin D, vitamin B1, and a variety of sex hormones such as testosterone, estradiol and progesterone.

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