Dried 'grass worms' hit the Vietnamese market, priced at 2.5 billion VND per kg but still sold out

Advertised as a natural “elixir” with better value than ginseng, cordyceps is also called “grass worm” (half animal, half plant) by luxury goods traders.

In nature, Cordyceps is found on mountains 3,500-5,000m high in Tibet (China), Bhutan, Nepal, India... However, the type of Cordyceps that is flooding the Vietnamese market, advertised everywhere on the "online market", mostly originates from Tibet and Bhutan.

Accordingly, just typing in the keyword “Cordyceps” will yield thousands of results for wholesale and retail addresses for this product. And Vietnamese consumers can buy imported dried grass worms as easily as buying vegetables at the market. However, the price of this product is still super expensive.

Admitting that Cordyceps is a luxury product because the cheapest type costs up to 730 million VND/kg and the most expensive type costs 2.5 billion VND/kg, Ms. Chu Thi Thanh Xuan, an employee at a high-end food store in Hai Ba Trung (Hanoi) said that this type of dried grass worm is still very popular as a gift for the Lunar New Year.

She said that the store specializes in selling Bhutanese cordyceps. Accordingly, the price depends on each type. For example, the cheapest type B at the store, size 61-69 pieces/10 grams, costs 730 million VND/kg; type A, size 56-60 pieces/10 grams, costs 850 million VND/kg, size 41-45 pieces/10 grams, costs 1.1 billion VND/kg, size 36-40 pieces/10 grams, costs 1.2 billion VND/kg, size 31-35 pieces/10 grams, costs 1.4 billion VND/kg...

The price of Vip ranges from 2-2.5 billion VND/kg. However, unlike types A and B which are always available, Vip cordyceps is often out of stock due to scarcity, Ms. Xuan said.

A week ago, the store received more than 1 kg of Vip grass worms, size 26-30 worms/10 grams and size 18-20 worms/10 grams. In less than 2 days, 4 customers ordered and sold out, including 1 customer who bought nearly 0.5 kg.

Dried grass worms are very light but very expensive, so stores often divide them into packages of 10 grams, 50 grams, 100 grams... to make it easier for people to choose when buying them as gifts during the holidays.

“This is the peak time for Tet At Ty consumption, so the number of customers ordering has increased sharply. There are days when I sit and consult and close about 40-50 orders,” she revealed.

Similarly, at Ms. Trinh Thi Mai's store in Tay Ho (Hanoi) for nearly a month now, Vip size cordyceps from 20-25 pieces/10 grams has been continuously "sold out" despite the price ranging from 2.2-2.55 billion VND/kg.

Ms. Mai said that these VIP sizes are often chosen by people to buy as gifts. However, because they are quite rare, customers "buy" them all as soon as they arrive.

As for those who buy for personal use, they often choose type A, B, or even broken cordyceps because they are cheaper. Not to mention, these types of products are relatively abundant in supply, and orders will be delivered the same day.

“Like today, I filtered out nearly 100 grams of broken cordyceps and sold it for 6.5 million VND/10 gram box. Everyone competed to buy it to soak in honey or make tea to drink,” she said.

Ms. Thao noted that this is a very expensive product. Therefore, when buying, you need to carefully check the quality certificate to avoid buying fake cultured cordyceps.

According to her, Tibetan or Bhutanese cordyceps have their own distinct characteristics. Specifically, with cordyceps originating from Bhutan, the surface of the worm is dark and light yellow-brown, the eyes are reddish brown. The mushroom part is very naturally connected to the worm body. The worm part has 3 stripes, each stripe is 1 fold arranged in a row. When chewed, the dried worm tastes like soybeans or rice, the more you chew, the more fragrant it is, like the smell of chicken or dried squid.

The Tibetan cordyceps has a characteristic copper-yellow head, white powder underneath the head, yellow teeth, and the eyes of the cordyceps also have a characteristic yellow color. When chewed, it has a fragrant smell and is slightly sticky to the teeth, the longer you chew, the more fragrant it becomes.

Previously, many experts have warned about fake cordyceps that are made in a sophisticated way that consumers find difficult to distinguish with the naked eye. Counterfeiters can use flour, crushed insect powder, then mix it with glue, and mold it into cordyceps. With current molding technology, the subjects will create fake cordyceps that look exactly like the real thing.