Harvesting Tibet caterpillar fungus is a way of life for residents in the Tibetian plateau. (Photo : Getty Images)
This type of fungus, with the scientific name Cordyceps Sinensis, is a rare organism found in the upper region of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. It's commonly known as a "worm grass" and is a valuable ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine.
The price of the worm grass used to be more expensive than gold. In 2011, it was selling at $50,000 a pound. High-quality fungus price went up to 1 million yuan per pound in 2013.
Xiong Kunxin, an ethnic studies professor at Beijing's Minzu University of China, said that the high price of the caterpillar fungus was due to the great demand from the 1990s to 2015."
However, the price has gone down because authorities are now on the lookout of abusive practices in the market and government officials who received them as gifts.
One dealer, Abo, who came from Lhasa, Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, said that he was surprised with the low price of worm grass.
He said, "Business isn't as good as it once was because prices have dropped to around 100,000 yuan per kilogram over the past few years."
According to a report released by the Communist Party, there have been 182,000 officials apprehended because of corruption. There was a 13.3 percent increase since 2012 to 2013.
Ni Xing, a professor with the Center for Anti-Corruption Studies at Sun Yat-sen University, said that there has been a drop in prices of luxury items including the caterpillar fungus.
He said, "Actually, it's not only caterpillar fungus. Since 2013, the markets for luxury goods in China have fallen, which might also be related to increased internal regulation of the CPC."
Caterpillar prices are seen to go down in the future as long as the anti-corruption campaign continues, according to Xiong Kunxin.
