Cần Giờ bird nests being processed by workers. — Photo congthuong.vn

HCM CITY — To enhance the brand value of Cần Giờ agricultural specialty products, the HCM City government needs to coordinate among departments, production and trade enterprises, and e-commerce platforms, experts said.

In the past 10 years, Cần Giờ has also developed bird's nest products that are considered to have better quality than those from other areas. The district has 519 houses raising birds, of which 459 houses are harvesting nests, with output estimated at 14.96 tonnes worth about VNĐ250 billion a year.

The district has eight key agricultural products, including brackish water shrimp, oysters, blood cockles, clams, pineapple fish, bird nests, mango and salt, with an output of more than 140,000 tonnes per year.

Cần Giờ's mango, bird nests, and pineapple fish products were granted trademark registration certificates by the Department of Intellectual Property in 2019. In the near future, oysters and nipa palm syrup will also be granted this certificate.

Cần Giờ currently has 18 OCOP products, of which 12 are four-star products and six are three-star products. The district is also preparing documents to earn OCOP classification for other 20 products, including 12 products made from bird nests, six assorted dried seafood products and two tourism products.

Trương Tiến Triển, deputy chairman of Cần Giờ District People's Committee, said Cần Giờ District has rich and diverse specialties with high quality that are different from other places. However, many specialties have not been introduced to international markets.

Most of the products are consumed in the domestic market, Triển said.

He suggested that authorities soon issue a document guiding the registration and granting of codes for swiftlet-raising establishments to help in the preparation of documents for bird nest exports.

To support market development and branding for agricultural products and specialties of Cần Giờ District, the HCM City Department of Industry and Trade, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and Tiki have coordinated to promote consumption of Cần Giờ's products under the One Commune One Product programme of HCM City and other provinces and cities involved in the city’s socio-economic development co-operation progarmme via an e-commerce platform.

Nguyễn Nguyên Phương, deputy director of the Department of Industry and Trade, said localities have developed a wide range of OCOP-certified products, of which many are recognised at ‘four-star’ and ‘five-star’, signifying their potential to reach international standards, but the products have encountered difficulties.

According to Phương, through preliminary assessments of departments, branches, experts and businesses, Cần Giờ bird nests are products that face challenges building a brand. The remaining problem is the coordination of departments with local authorities and entities that produce and trade bird nest products in Cần Giờ.

Illustrative image (internet)

To develop a value chain for Cần Giờ bird nests, building a closed production process, controlling the supply chain and standardising quality are necessary.

In addition, it is necessary to create an effective environment, mechanisms, and support system for businesses, cooperatives, and OCOP entities in Cần Giờ District to improve their products. From there, it will be important to improve competitiveness, encourage product promotion and consumption, reach consumers nationwide and aim to export to international markets.

Nguyễn Quách Nhi, food and FMCG commercial director at Tiki, said HCM City and Cần Giờ have the opportunity to expand and develop the bird's nest brand. The world bird's nest market size is more than US$8 billion, of which the Vietnamese market is about $800 million, with an average growth rate of 20 per cent per year.

Currently, Vietnamese bird nests are considered by the world's largest consumer markets to have the best quality and are priced higher than similar products from other countries.

Nhi said: "Even though Cần Giờ bird's nests have not yet been branded, they are considered to have outstanding quality. Many large bird's nest manufacturers have registered their production area code in Cần Giờ".

With these advantages, Cần Giờ bird's nest products have been set to become a strong brand of the city and Việt Nam.