Ox gallstones attract a high price due to their rarity and fragility, making them difficult to transport. - Photo: Soho/SCMP
HONG KONG: Demand for ox gallstones in Hong Kong has risen significantly following the Covid-19 pandemic, with a US trade report showing the rare medicinal ingredient’s import value has increased nearly three times to HK$1.7 billion (US$218 million) over the past five years.
The surge in demand came under the spotlight after two siblings in Uruguay were sentenced this week for trafficking more than US$3 million worth of bovine gallstones to Hong Kong.
The report from the US Department of Agriculture’s agricultural trade office for Hong Kong noted sales of a pill that used the ingredient had grown and prompted a strong demand for ox gallstones.
Chan Man-hon, general secretary of the Hong Kong’s Union of Frontline Chinese Medicine Practitioners, said ox gallstones, or niu huang in Mandarin, were typically the main ingredient in “Peaceful Palace Bovine Bezoar” pills.
The pills were used to treat symptoms such as high fever, unconsciousness, convulsion and brain inflammation, or for certain types of stroke that traditional Chinese medicine practitioners considered to be carrying “too much energy”, he explained.
For the record, US beef processing plants are now taking note of the huge export potential of a cattle byproduct, ox gallstones, to the Hong Kong market. Ox gallstones are in high demand in the Chinese community as a precious Chinese herbal medicine.
They are either sold as natural gallstones or combined with other ingredients as a proprietary Chinese medicine. The retail price of natural gall stones is as high as HK$19,000 for one tael, ie. US$65 per gram. A small pellet weighing three grams costs around US$195. Currently, there are Hong Kong importers looking for supplies.
The gallstones normally measure 1cm to 3cm in diameter and weigh about 10 grams (0.35 ounces). Traders said the ingredient's high value was due to its fragility, which made it difficult to transport, and rarity, with the probability of finding one in a bovine gallbladder being about one in US$500 to US$1,000.
Cattle gallstones are used in alternative medicine to treat hepatitis and other liver and gall bladder-related ailments.
They form in a variety of shapes and sizes, however their value is determined by colour, texture, size and dryness.
The value of individual stones is determined by dryness, colour, texture, size and whole and broken pieces. Whole, smooth, lustrous, golden specimens attract the highest price. Dark and pitted stones as well as stones with calcium inclusions(white) are of reduced value. However, regardless of condition, traders will purchase all ox gallstones including liver tube and wet stone.
Contrary to popular belief, gallstones are not an aphrodisiac. They are used extensively in oriental medicine, particularly in the treatment of hepatitis and other liver and gallbladder related ailments.
In recent years, and particularly in 2024, the Agricultural Trade Office (ATO) has received inquiries from local importers looking for U.S. ox gallstones - signaling an underlying demand for this byproduct in Hong Kong.
While ox gallstones may be underutilised in the United States, Hong Kong consumers see the product as a high-valued ingredient that can be used to produce Chinese medicine (such as Angong Niu Huang Wan).
This report summarizes the current ox gallstone retail and pricing situation in Hong Kong and highlights market opportunities for interested US exporters. - Agencies
