Leeches turn into cash crop as villagers supply 'dried leeches' to traditional medicine market in China

Leeches have become an unlikely cash crop for villagers in northeast Thailand who are exporting them to China.

Residents spend the rainy season scouring ponds and other stagnant bodies of water for the sought-after bloodsuckers, which are used in traditional medicine in the neighbouring country.

Footage shows one local using a net to scoop up muddy water containing several four-inch leeches, which she carried back home in a paint bucket.

The unusual trade has become a lucrative source of income, reportedly generating tens of thousands of baht monthly, with peaks during the rainy monsoon season.

Fresh leeches sold for 300 to 500 baht per kilo, while dried and smoked leeches fetch up to 2,000 baht per kilo.

Leech hunter Phaitoon Thaonang, 48, said villagers have been collecting leeches for decades after traders introduced the export business to the community.

He said: 'There is demand for leeches throughout the year, but the rainy season is the best time to catch them because ponds and swamps are teeming with them.

'They are usually found in stagnant waters and other places with water hyacinths or buffalo bathing areas, as leeches feed primarily on buffalo blood.

'We use nets to scoop them from waters where large numbers are expected to gather. Buyers now source leeches not only from Nakhon Phanom but from across the northeastern region.'

Fresh leeches are then packed into foam boxes and sent to buyers by private courier, fetching around 300 to 500 baht per kilogram depending on their size.

But they can also be processed, with dried leeches selling for around 2,000 baht per kilogram, as the process requires additional steps.

The seasonal trade reportedly provides many families with a valuable supplement to their farming income.

In traditional Chinese medicine, leeches are used to improve blood circulation and help break up blood clots and stagnant blood. Their saliva contains hirudin, a natural anticoagulant to stop blood from clumping.

They are also used in herbal remedies for cardiovascular conditions, stroke recovery and certain gynaecological disorders.