Taninthayi earns K1.8 billion from Swallow Birds Nest enterprise tender

THE regional fund of Taninthayi Region is K1.8 billion larger after it received funding from a Swallow Birds Nest enterprise tender process, according to the Regional Minister of Forestry

The Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC) previously had a monopoly over the Swallow Birds Nest collection enterprises in the region in the years leading up to 2014, before tender offers began to be put out to other companies.
“There was only ever this one private company involved in this enterprise as they were the only company who would bid when tenders were first put out. The price of the tender this year, however, has tripled as other companies have entered the competition by placing bids,” said U Tin Thein, director of the Department of Forestry for Taninthayi Region.
The process of calling Swallow Birds Nest enterprise to tender began on 9 February, with the bidding companies announced on 15 February. Twenty-five per cent of the price of the tender bid first had to be paid up front to the Myanma Economic Bank, while the remainder had to be settled by February 17.
“There are only four areas within the region in which Swallow Birds Nest can be collected. Four companies applied shortly after the tenders were called, but only three turned up on the day when successful bids were announced. Only two of these three companies were successful, walking away with the rights to collect Swallow Birds Nest,” explained U Win Naing, assistant director of the forestry department.
Among the companies that bid—MEC, Ruby Light Rays and Grand Andaman Islands—MEC was awarded Plot 3, while Grand Andaman Islands swept up plots 1, 2 and 4.
Plot 1 is located within the townships of Laung Lone and Yay Phyu, covering an area of eight islands, won with a tender bid of over K1.2 million. Plot 2 comprises ten islands in the Ye Aye island cluster in the Myeik archipelago; it was secured with a successful bid of more than K1.8 million. Plot 3 is located in Kaw Thaung District, the southernmost part of the country, made up of a group of nine islands for which the winning bid surpassed K420 million. Plot 4 is located in an area covering the five islands of Pulaw Township, of which the tender was awarded to a bid of over K1.44 billion.
Successful tender bidders are permitted to exploit their winning plots only up until November of this year, while the period of time in which the actual collecting of Swallow Birds Nests can take place three months per year in order to mitigate the potential wiping out of bird species in these areas. Swallow Birds Nest collectors are also prohibited from making artificial alterations to caves where Swallow Birds Nests are located.
Under a government initiative, some areas of Taninthayi Region have been designated wildlife zones in order to provide a safe haven for birds to nest and reproduce, according to the regional forestry department.
In the 2013-2014 fiscal year, when Swallow Birds Nest enterprise tenders were called, the regional fund banked over K900 million, while the following fiscal year saw a decline with K620 million secured.
The current regional price for one viss (1.54 kilos) of black Swallow Birds Nest fetches approximately K300,000, while white Swallow Birds Nests are significantly more valuable, with the same weight going for as much as K6 million.

Taninthayi earns K1.8 billion from Swallow Birds Nest enterprise tender

How to differentiate GENUINE and FAKE Swallow Birds Nest?

Genuine Swallow Birds Nest

Genuine Swallow Birds Nest has a natural creamy colour with fibre-like strands. The traces of feathers or dirt specks in genuine Swallow Birds Nest cannot be 100% clean.

Genuine Swallow Birds Nest gives out a unique egg white or fishy smell on its own and after being cooked, every piece of genuine Swallow Birds Nest is different in its colour, shape and weight.

Genuine Swallow Birds Nest is very fragile and easy to break into fine pieces and is 99% dry. It takes about 15-30 minutes to soak them into water, and then it will expand four to seven times bigger than its normal size. You can find some tiny feathers or tiny black specks on the Swallow Birds Nest. Traces of feathers or impurity are one proof and guarantee of its authenticity.

Fake or Chemically Treated Swallow Birds Nest

Dear birds nest lovers, it is time to stop being cheated by rogue businessmen.

Swallow Birds Nest is a high value healthy food. Yet, some rogue businessmen started exploiting the Swallow Birds Nest trade by selling fake or chemically treated Swallow Birds Nest for fast money. The majority of Swallow Birds Nest lovers are unaware of how to differentiate between genuine and chemical treated Swallow Birds Nest.

Different Ways of Chemically Treated Swallow Birds Nest:

Strong bleaching agent - to get rid of tiny feathers and impurity or black specks. The Swallow Birds Nest look very white or clean. Every pieces looked the same. It has a chemical smell or sour smell or no smell of egg white or fishy smell.

Industrial colouring - dye the birds nest into red, orange, and yellow colour. Every pieces looked the same. Industrial colouring (dye) is very poisonous and can cause a cancer or death if consumed regularly.

Added with seaweeds (agar agar) - to make the birds nest heavier to cheat on its weight. It has a smell of seaweed or chemical.

Industrial glue - to glue the Swallow Birds Nest together and make it heavier. It has a smell of chemical or sour smell. The Swallow Birds Nest looked more solid and not so fragile.

The effective way to test the Swallow Birds Nest is to smell the dried Swallow Birds Nest, place a piece of wet birds nest into a plastic bag, and tie the bag tightly. Then, you either can open the plastic bag after 10 minutes or place a piece of wet Swallow Birds Nest into the fridge for one hour before smelling the content. If you can smell chemical or unpleasant smell, the Swallow Birds Nest is not pure.

Some rogue businessmen can even spray the Swallow Birds Nest with water to cheat you on the weight. You can tell blending the Swallow Birds Nest. If it can be blended, the Swallow Birds Nest contains 20 to 30% water. Chemical treated Swallow Birds Nest takes more then one hour or longer to expand when soaked in water. If a trader claimed that their Swallow Birds Nest is 100% clean, be careful.

Cave nest contains more impurities due to the minerals and metals that are present in the cave. It is impossible to manually clean them, therefore 99% of cave nest is being cleaned by a strong bleaching agent.

Blood nest is not being created by the swiftlet itself but by the mineral and metal content and the impurity of the wet surface in the cave. 99% of blood nest in the market is made by drying the white Swallow Birds Nest with industrial colouring or smoke the Swallow Birds Nest with swiftlet dropping for a few weeks.

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