Cordyceps collectors make bumper harvest

Tenzin Lhaden

Affected by the COVID-19 pandemic last year, cordyceps collectors faced difficulty to harvest cordyceps, and cordyceps agencies were also impacted. 

It is a success story for the highlanders in Sephu, Wangdue Phodrang, this year. 

“We couldn’t bring in any cash last year in light of the fact that the sellers couldn’t trade the item outside,” said Pemba, Tshogpa of Busa village. “The pandemic has most certainly come as an enormous blow for highlanders who rely upon the offer of cordyceps as a type of revenue”, he added.

Nonetheless, this year saw an increment of cordyceps concerning quality and amount.

In Bhutan, cordyceps are found filling in the high grounds of a few dzongkhags, for example, Paro, Gasa, Thimphu, Wangdue Phodrang, Bumthang, Lhuentse, and Tashi Yangtse.

With a kilogram of cordyceps getting Nu 30 lakh in Sephu last month, this year records the most exorbitant cost contrasted with the year before.

Differing in grades, the top-notch cordyceps brought Nu 30 lakh for each kg while the most minimal was Nu 7 lakh for low-quality herbal.

Last year, the commodity market was disturbed by the pandemic, and thus, less amount of cordyceps was purchased by the bidders. By this year around, about 30 to 40 bidders have taken part in the closeout led at Chazam under Sephu gewog on July 26, 27, and 28.

Auction involves the social event of many purchasers, dealers, and government authorities.

Cordyceps is promoted through open closeout that is being worked with by gewog organization, Department of Forest and Park Service (DoFPS), Department of Agricultural Marketing and Cooperatives (DAMC), and Bhutan Agricultural Food Regulatory Authority (BAFRA) essentially to establish a straightforward and conducive climate for both vendor and purchasers and to guarantee smooth working of marketing of cordyceps.

Busa Tshogpa Pemba said that a few gatherers didn’t come for the bartering. It isn’t clear on the off chance that the rest didn’t reap the cordyceps this year or on the other hand assuming they sold it straightforwardly to the exporters.

Rinchen Dorji of Ribana village in Sephu gewog went with his sister to hunt for cordyceps. They figured out how to gather 500 grams of cordyceps organism not at all like last year in the span of a month and a half allowed period.

Last year he could gather 300 grams of cordyceps organisms which were not of great quality as well, for this reason, he was unable to acquire a lot of pay. Notwithstanding, he said that both the quality and amount of the parasite were great this year.

He acquired Nu eight lakh thirty thousand selling 500 grams of the organism at the cordyceps closeout.

Certain assortments of cordyceps develop parasitically in four years or less. This is the reason, the collectors go with the hope that they will get great quality cordyceps in great sum, Rinchen asserted.

“This is decent pay and obviously superior to that of a year ago,” said Nima Dorji from Busa Village.  “This year, it is a guard year. I’m happy with the cost and feel I am paid for my hard work,” he said.