Why edible bird’s nest is as expensive as gold

Have you ever wondered why the edible bird’s nest, the main ingredient of "nido soup," is almost as precious as gold?

Believe it or not, the whitish (considered Class A type) cup-shaped nest commands from P100,000 to P120,000 per kilogram in Manila. And its price can shoot up to as high as P400,000/kg in the international market.

This high market value can approximate that of gold, which is priced by weight in grams. Thus, the edible bird’s nest is sometimes dubbed "white gold".

But supply of the rare commodity continues to decline owing to overharvest.

In fact, pointed out the Los Baños-based Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau (DENR-ERDB), harvest is now down by 65 percent compared to 1961 data.

Actually, the nest is the dried saliva of the edible nest swiflet (Collocalia fusciphaga Outstalet), locally called "balinsasayaw". The swiflet abounds in El Nido and nearby islands in Palawan.

"Usually," explains ERDB headed by Director Celso Diaz, "a swiflet couple weaves together a cup-shaped nest, whitish in color (considered Class A type) in preparation for their breeding period."

Records show that wealthy Chinese were the pioneer consumers of the nest as early as 1600. They even traveled across the globe in search of it.

The bird’s nest not only possesses nutritional and beauty tunic properties but also medical value. It is claimed, according to Chinese medical tradition, to cure asthma and other respiratory ailments such as bronchitis and sinusitis, and can prevent colds.

To help save the dwindling edible nest industry in Palawan, DENR-ERDB and the European Commission (through ORSTOM France) launched a collaborative research project.

Initial investigation done by the project coordinated by Dr. Honorato Palis indicated that the industry’s alarming status is mainly due to biophysical, institutional and sociocultural problems.

The biophysical factors include unstable climatic conditions, presence of predators, and conversion of lands to agriculture which altered the bird’s natural habitat.

Institutional problems exist because of uncoordinated conservation and preservation effort, as exemplified by the absence of cooperatives or organizations.

Relevant information such as volume of annual harvest is not available. Moreover, proper harvesting season, which starts in May and ends in November, is not being observed.

Dr. Palis recommended a review of existing laws to address the true needs of the industry. — Rudy A. Fernandez