Collected from the Tibetan highlands, the caterpillar mushroom can fetch US$18,000 a pound, and in rare cases over US$50,000 a pound.
It is a traditional medicine used for centuries to treat heart, liver and lung diseases, high cholesterol, low libido and impotence, despite a lack of scientific evidence.
But during the peak harvest season of May this year, collectors have had a harder time finding the slender brown root-like mushroom, known as come onor “summer grass, winter worm”, yarsagumba or Himalayan Viagra.
Tibetan herdsmen who gather the mushroom to add to their meager income blame poor rainfall, climate change and over-harvesting amid rising demand.
“Production is already in decline with each passing year,” a Tibetan man living in Dege de Kardze county told Radio Free Asia. “Before, collectors could easily collect at least 100 pieces of caterpillar mushrooms, but now the most they can collect is 40 in a day. Some even say they can only collect 10 a day.”
Research published in 2018 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal said the decline of the caterpillar fungus in the Himalayan region was due to climate change and over-harvesting.
Its value jumped during the COVID-19 pandemic as people sought the mushroom as a treatment for the virus. And prices have also risen as the Chinese, Mongolians and others try to get into the business of collecting and selling the mushroom, he said.
“That now makes it difficult for everyone to prosper because of the limited production,” he said.
These days, the lowest quality mushroom sells for around 30 yuan, or US$4.25, each, while the best quality mushroom costs between 50 and 60 yuan (7 to 8.50 US dollars) each. said a Tibetan man living in Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, a Tibetan-populated area of Sichuan province.
In China, where the mushroom is highly prized, its market price rose from $6,000 to $9,000 a pound between 1995 and 2015, according to a July 2022 report. report by Scroll, an Indian digital news publication. Today, the price ranges from $9,000 to $18,000 per pound.
In some rare cases, the highest grade mushroom has sold for more than $50,000, according to reports from Business Insider and National Public Radio.
This year, many pickers are sending caterpillar mushrooms to different cities in China and selling them for 50-60 yuan each, said a Tibetan man in Malho prefecture, a Tibetan-populated area in Qinghai province.
Found in high meadows
The fungus, which originates from dead caterpillars, is found in grasslands above 3,500 meters (10,500 feet) in Tibet, parts of China, and in the neighboring Himalayan regions of Bhutan and Nepal.
Called dong chong xia cao In Chinese, its scientific name is Ophiocordyceps sinensis.
The mushroom can be eaten directly, added to food or liquid, or crushed for use in traditional medicine.
“Until 2016, one could easily collect 15 to 20 pieces of caterpillar mushrooms in a day, but these days you can barely collect eight to 10,” said a Tibetan man living in Qinghai province, which has areas populated by tibetans. Like other sources, he declined to give his name to speak freely.
The Chinese government has warned Tibetans in Qinghai not to harvest caterpillar mushrooms, citing reasons such as environmental protection, he said, though other Tibetans report a growing market in China for the product.
“Due to the snow and cold weather, it is still difficult to harvest caterpillar mushrooms in the higher altitude regions, so the cost of these mushrooms will most likely increase as the harvest will peak at the end of May.” said the Tibetan.
According to Chinese government records, 100 tons of caterpillar mushrooms are produced in Qinghai province alone, selling for 180 to 200 million yuan.
In previous years, herders found large numbers of caterpillar mushrooms on the hills in spring in the main production areas so that many of them could collect enough in a month.
But that is proving more difficult these days.
Another Tibetan in the Lithang town of Kardze said that about 70% of the people in his village used to harvest caterpillar mushrooms a few years ago. But now, only about half do so due to intensive collection.
High demand has also fueled the production of fake caterpillar mushrooms in Chinese markets, according to a Tibetan businessman living in Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region.
Translated by Tenzin Dickyi for RFA Tibetan. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.
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