Why is cordyceps so expensive?
Scarcity makes things valuable
Firstly, there is the place of origin. Cordyceps sinensis grows on the plateau at an altitude of 3,000 to 5,000 meters. As early as the Tang Dynasty, it was used by the Tibetan and Qiang people to treat diseases and strengthen their bodies.
Currently, the main production areas of cordyceps are only Qinghai, Yunnan, Sichuan, India and other places. As the climate warms, the altitude requirement for cordyceps continues to rise, which is why it is becoming increasingly scarce.
The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is vast, and not all areas produce Cordyceps sinensis. It only grows in certain areas where the mountain peaks are covered with snow year-round and the altitude exceeds 4,000 to 6,000 meters, with shrublands or meadows on the mountainside (Cordyceps sinensis grows at altitudes of around 3,500-5,000 meters). These places have harsh conditions, with temperatures below freezing for most of the year and severe oxygen deficiency, making them unsuitable for long-term human habitation and sparsely populated.
Every year from April to May, as the weather warms up and the snow melts on the mountainside, Tibetan people travel by horse, yak, tractor, truck, and motorcycle to the foot of the snow-capped mountains to set up camp and endure altitude sickness for two months. Although temperatures in inland areas are already 20-30 degrees Celsius, it remains cold here, and severe weather such as wind, snow, and hail occurs frequently, making living and eating conditions very poor.
Harvesting cordyceps is no easy task. First, the altitude here is mostly above 3800 meters, making it an oxygen-deficient environment. Second, the ultraviolet radiation is extremely strong, requiring the head and face to be covered to avoid sunburn. Third, searching for cordyceps requires crouching or lying prone in the grass, and because it rains and snows almost every night or intermittently, the ground is quite damp. Two months of harvesting can cause some underlying health issues. Finally, and most importantly, it's a very solitary, meticulous, and physically and mentally taxing search. A day might yield only 1-2 cordyceps, or even none, but could yield 20-30, averaging about 10 cordyceps per day.
Secondly, it's due to the slow growth cycle of cordyceps itself.
In the first year, the ghost moth lays its eggs underground to reproduce. The eggs hatch into larvae, which slowly grow. In winter, the cordyceps fungus invades the ghost moth larvae, robbing them of their nutrients and causing their death when they are two to three centimeters underground. Then, around summer of the following year, the cordyceps begins to emerge, eventually becoming the cordyceps we need. The shrinking production area and slow growth cycle make cordyceps increasingly expensive.
(Images and text sourced from the internet)
