Chinese market likes Thai leeches, earthworms, geckos

NAKHON PHANOM, Oct 1 – A small village in this northeastern Thai province is cashing in on odd ‘products’ from the soil making total earnings of over Bt100 million for villagers each year.

In Taan village of Na Wah district across the Mekong River from Laos, people are busily catching aquatic leeches, earthworms and geckos, which are especially abundant during the rainy season, to be exported to China.

Freshwater leeches are sold at Bt500-1,000 per kg while the prices of dried or smoked leeches fetch as much as Bt1,000-2,000 per kilo depending on their sizes. Dried earthworms and geckos are also in demand in China.

Villagers who usually earn Bt10,000-20,000 a month from paddy cultivation are delighted with the extra income. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2012-10-01

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L.B

Dried leeches? Gummy bears?

They can take all the BIBs for all I care...

The Chinese market must love the PTP. It's full of worms and leeches.

Villagers who usually earn Bt10,000-20,000 a month from paddy cultivation are delighted with the extra income.

Who are these villages earning Bt20,000 a month from rice growing? Even if they managed to get the full price of Bt20 per kilo of Jasmine rice, they'd need to be selling 1000kg of it a month on average, and that's without factoring in the cost of fertiliser, labour, diesel etc. And they still have time to dig up worms and leeches? Shame the Chinese don't like Thai porky pies, they would be the country's biggest export.

Having read the story about pesticide use in Thailand, we won't ask how much of the stuff they have to spray around to be able to reap this bountiful harvest.

As for the revenue and prices, I think I will put that down to a typo, because earning 100mn at 1000 baht a kilo, I can't imagine how many leeches there are per tonne, but I doubt very much that you could either physically catch this many, or do so without severely damaging the ecology of the area. I mean, 1000 kilograms of earth worms, or leaches, just imagine how voluminous that actually must be.

No accounting for some peoples tastes...

I believe the earthworms are for agricultural use, to aerate the dirt or to aid in composting/fertilizing?

Dried leeches? Gummy bears?

They drain Bears of all their BILE in tiny steel cages, fortunately its BEEN outlawed in thailand but i'm sure still goes on like it does in vietnam in Laos to feed the greedy chinese wildlife destroyers.

The earth will get revenge on Asia one day soon..

The Chinese market must love the PTP. It's full of worms and leeches.

Good one.

You forgot to include lizards (jing jok).

Care to explane what you are talking about and what it has to do with catching and exporting aquatic leeches, earthworms and geckos from Thailand

Yes the numbers do not add up.

That is why I would rather see them simple arithmetic instead of English.

Do not dare to tuch my "house-geckos"

20,000 per month is more than the majority of workers in banking, business, manufacturing , travel, service, and certainly farming make in Thailand.