The market for medicinal plants in SAPA and Hanoi, Vietnam

Abstract

The Market for Medicinal Plants in Sapa and Hanoi, Vietnam. Economic Botany 59(4):377-385, 2005. This article describes the market for medicinal plants sold in the Vietnamese town
of Sapa as well as in nine different markets in the Vietnamese capital city, Hanoi. A total of 44 medicinal plants were identified
botanically, 27 of which are on sale in Sapa and 28 in Hanoi. Most buyers of medicinal plants in Sapa are members of the Vietnamese
middle classes who go to Sapa on holidays. Medicinal plants are gathered or cultivated predominantly by members of ethnic
minority groups (Hmong and Dao) who live in small hamlets, some located several hours from the town of Sapa. Sapa is one of
the poorest districts in Vietnam with a GDP per household of only U.S. $322 in 2005, so the cash that people are able to earn
from the sale of medicinal plants is very important. The article argues that the social roles of the weekend market in Sapa
are equally important, as the market helps ethnic minorities to fulfil their needs for a social life beyond the village.

Full text

Economic Botany 59(4) pp. 377–385. 2005
q
2005 by The New York Botanical Garden Press, Bronx, NY 10458-5126 U.S.A.
T
HE
M
ARKET FOR
M
EDICINAL
P
LANTS IN
S
APA AND
H
ANOI
,V
IETNAM
1
C
LAUDIO
O. D
ELANG
Delang, Claudio O. (Centre for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, 46 Shimoadachi-
cho, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan; Tel.
1
81-75-7537335; Fax
1
81-75-7537350;
e-mail: delang@cseas.kyoto-u.ac.jp). T
HE
M
ARKET FOR
M
EDICINAL
P
LANTS IN
S
APA AND
H
ANOI
,
V
IETNAM
. Economic Botany 59(4):377–385, 2005. This article describes the market for medic-
inal plants sold in the Vietnamese town of Sapa as well as in nine different markets in the
Vietnamese capital city, Hanoi. A total of 44 medicinal plants were identified botanically, 27
of which are on sale in Sapa and 28 in Hanoi. Most buyers of medicinal plants in Sapa are
members of the Vietnamese middle classes who go to Sapa on holidays. Medicinal plants are
gathered or cultivated predominantly by members of ethnic minority groups (Hmong and Dao)
who live in small hamlets, some located several hours from the town of Sapa. Sapa is one of
the poorest districts in Vietnam with a GDP per household of only U.S. $322 in 2005, so the
cash that people are able to earn from the sale of medicinal plants is very important. The
article argues that the social roles of the weekend market in Sapa are equally important, as
the market helps ethnic minorities to fulfil their needs for a social life beyond the village.
Key Words: Medicinal plants, Hmong, Dao, Sapa, Lao Cai, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Since the late 1980s there has been a surge of
interest in the potential contribution that the ex-
istence of a market for non-timber forest prod-
ucts (NTFPs) can make to forest conservation.
The argument was that people would have an
incentive to conserve the forest if they could
have a sustainable income from the sale of
NTFPs (Peters et al. 1989). A counter-argument
that was made later was that a market for NTFPs
tends to lead to their competitive exploitation,
which eventually compromises the long-term
ecological integrity of forests (Freese 1996; Pe-
ters 1996). There is no doubt that NTFPs are
important commercial commodities for many
populations that have few alternative sources of
cash, such as cash crops or cattle. Indeed, week-
ly markets for the sale of NTFPs and the pur-
chase of market products are common in many
rural areas in the world (Kumar and Jain 2002).
This is also true in many rural areas of Vietnam,
including the province of Lao Cai, where mem-
bers of ethnic minority groups can earn the cash
they need to buy the goods they lack. Wooden
products are also an important export item of
Vietnam, with an expected value of U.S. $1.37
1
Received 1 July 2005; accepted 3 August 2005.
billion in 2005, up from U.S. $1.05 billion in
2004. Among these wooden products are medic-
inal plants that are still regularly consumed by
many people in Vietnam and China. This article,
based on a survey administered in May 2005,
compares the availability of medicinal plants in
Hanoi and Sapa, and the differences in price.
T
HE
D
ISTRICT AND
T
OWN OF
S
APA
The district of Sapa is situated in the north-
ernmost province of Vietnam, 38 km from the
provincial capital of Lao Cai, a border town with
China (Fig. 1). Because of the limited land avail-
able, the ruggedness of the terrain, and its iso-
lation, Sapa district is one of the poorest districts
in Vietnam, with a GDP per household expected
to be of only 5.1 million VND (U.S. $322) in
2005, although it is up from 2.3 million VND
(U.S. $145) in 2000 (TIPC 2005).
The district capital, the town of Sapa, is on
the Hoang Lien Son Mountain range, whose
highest peak (which is also the highest peak of
the country), Fan Si Pan, reaches 3,147 meters.
The town of Sapa, located at an altitude of 1,650
m ASL, was founded by the French colonialists
in 1922, after a Jesuit missionary ‘‘discovered’’
it in 1918. The French developed the town into
a mountain resort for French administrators from

378 [VOL. 59ECONOMIC BOTANY
Fig. 1. Sapa district in northern Vietnam.
Fig. 2. Number of tourists in the town of Sapa. Source TIPC (2005).
the plains, when the summer heat and humidity
became unbearable. The climate in Sapa is mod-
erate, with average temperatures of 15.4
8
C, a
maximum of 29.4
8
C in July, and a minimum of
2
3.2
8
C in December.
The popularity of Sapa as a tourist destination
was adversely affected in the late 1940s, during
the First Indochina War, when many French
buildings in Sapa were destroyed. In late 1979,
Sapa was damaged by shelling during the border
war with China. The town opened for foreign
tourists in the early 1990s (Burkert 2003) and
has become a popular destination for western
tourists. In recent years, the town and the district
have also become a popular tourist destination
for the growing Vietnamese middle class (Fig.
2), especially during the summer.
In 2001, the total population in the district
was 39,356 people (General Statistics Office
2002). Most people belong to ethnic minority
groups that migrated several centuries ago from
China. According to the General Statistics Office
(2002:968), in 1999 in the district there were
22,137 people of 11 ethnic groups, almost half
of whom were Hmong (10,574 people) and one
quarter Dao (5,383 people). The Kinh (the ma-
jority ethnic group in Vietnam, and, with 4,115
people, the third largest in Sapa district) are rel-
atively recent migrants, since most of them mi-
grated in the late 1970s, when the Vietnamese
government encouraged their settlement. Most
of the Kinh who live in the district have settled
in the capital city.
These ethnic minorities live in villages dis-
persed in the mountains, where their main eco-
nomic activity is the cultivation of rice and corn
for subsistence. Much of the land that can be
flooded during the rainy season has been trans-
formed into paddy fields. However, the rugged-
ness of the terrain means that the people are not
always able to produce sufficient cereal crops
for subsistence. The total quantity of cereal
crops (including rice and maize) produced in
2001 was 8,547 tons (6,581 tons of rice and
1,966 tons of maize), which corresponds to a
quantity of 217.2 kg a year per capita, or 600 g
a day (General Statistics Office 2002). Thus, the
people in the district experience a cereal deficit,
which can only partly be compensated for with
the cultivation of cash crops or the sale of cattle.
The sale of medicinal plants, handicrafts, and
orchids helps the population to earn the cash

2005] 379VIETNAMESE MEDICINAL PLANTS
they need to buy rice, maize, and the other
goods.
In many villages the single most important
NTFP in terms of the amount of money earned
is the orchid. People take orchids from the forest
and grow them near their houses, waiting for
people to come to the villages to buy them, or
going to Sapa to sell them. Handicrafts are sold
mainly by Hmong and Dao women, and are
bought by western tourists in the village of Sapa.
This article focuses on the sale of medicinal
plants, some of which are cultivated, but most
of which are gathered in the forest or near the
fields.
M
ETHODS
In May 2005, the author, together with spe-
cially trained research assistants, surveyed all
the shops in the town of Sapa as well as nine
markets in Hanoi where medicinal plants were
being sold. In Sapa, there were about 20 shops
where medicinal plants were traded.
In Sapa, we interviewed five shop owners, 15
Vietnamese tourists who bought medicinal
plants in the shops, and three wholesale traders
who sell to Vietnamese (Hanoi-based) or Chi-
nese traders. Interviews were open-ended in or-
der to understand the general pattern of purchase
and sale, the place of origin of buyers and sell-
ers, the reasons why Vietnamese tourists buy
medicinal plants in Sapa, and the functioning of
the trade of medicinal plants toward Hanoi and
China. Sixteen members of ethnic minority
groups who sell the medicinal plants were also
interviewed. Interviews with members of the
ethnic minority groups were conducted in the
food market adjacent to the market for medicinal
plants, a place where people relax after com-
pleting their sales. People were asked informally
about the economic importance of medicinal
plants to their livelihood, and about the social
importance of the market. We also observed the
interactions between the members of the ethnic
minority groups and the shop owners, and be-
tween the members of the ethnic minority
groups coming from different villages. During
our stay in Sapa district, we also visited four
Hmong villages up to 40 kilometers away from
the town of Sapa, and we interviewed the vil-
lagers about the economic and the social impor-
tance of marketing medicinal plants in Sapa.
In Hanoi, we surveyed nine markets and
streets where medicinal plants from Sapa and
from other areas are sold. Xuaˆn is the larg-
`
-D
ˆ
ong
est market, with about 130 stalls.
’
Hai Thu’o’ng
˙
La˜n O
ˆ
ng has about 50 stalls, Ha´ngDa30,
Mo’ 15, the 19–12 Market 15, HoˆmCho’ Cho’
˙˙
13, Mo´’i 12, Ha`ng Be` 9, and Long Bieˆn (a
`
C
ˆ
au
wholesale market that sells to restaurants and
shops) 8. In Hanoi, there are a large number of
markets where medicinal plants are sold, but
these nine markets might be indicative of the
most popular medicinal plants in the capital city
and of their prices. Twelve shop owners were
interviewed about the origin of their medicinal
plants and the socio-economic background of
the buyers.
Samples of the plants were bought when they
were first encountered and it was not possible to
identify them in situ. The plants were identified
botanically with the help of Mr. Ngo Van Tu
from the Forest Inventory and Planning Institute
(Hanoi), Ms. Hoang Minh Nguyet from Kyoto
University, and Vo˜Va˘n Chi (1997), among oth-
ers.
T
HE
M
ARKET FOR
M
EDICINAL
P
LANTS
IN
S
APA
The sale of medicinal plants in the town of
Sapa is carried out on Saturday and Sunday.
Most sellers are Hmong or Dao who live in var-
ious villages, sometimes at considerable distance
from Sapa. Some people travel for up to five
hours, leaving at 3 a.m. to reach the market by
8 a.m. Once they arrive they go from one shop
to the other, asking the shop owner if he or she
is interested in buying their medicinal plants.
The sellers start with a high price in the morn-
ing, gradually reducing it as the day goes by.
They never want to go back to their villages
with the goods, so if they have not sold the me-
dicinal plants by mid-afternoon, they end up
selling them at very low prices.
Before returning to their villages, the plant
sellers buy the goods they need, whether they
are farming tools, agricultural products, or food.
Thus, they might spend all the money earned
from the sale of their medicinal plants.
These trips to Sapa usually take place on the
weekends, when members of ethnic minority
groups who live in small hamlets scattered
throughout the mountains go to Sapa to socialize
and meet friends. The existence of the market
for medicinal plants is therefore also an excuse
to go to the largest town in the district and meet
with people from the same ethnic groups, who

380 [VOL. 59ECONOMIC BOTANY
T
ABLE
1. M
EDICINAL PLANTS IN THE MARKETS IN
H
ANOI AND
S
APA
.
Botanic name Vietnamese name
Part of the
plant consumed
Number of stalls in the Hanoi markets
`
–
D
ˆ
ong
Xuaˆn
Long
Bieˆn
Ha´ng
Da
H’ai
Thu’o’ng
˙
Ha`ng
Be`
`
C
ˆ
au
M
´
o’i
19–12
market
Cho’
˙
Mo’
Cho’
˙
Hoˆm
Average
price
1
Sapa shops
Average
price
1
AMARYLLIDACEAE
Crinum latifolium L. Trinh hoa`ngn˜u’
cung
Leaves 47 60,000
APIACEAE
Angelica sinensis (Oliv.)
Diels
quy-Du’o’ng Root
3
40,000
ARIALACEAE
Schefflera octophylla (Lour.)
Harms
Ngu˜ gia bı` chaˆn
chim
Bark
3
20,000
Panax pseudo-ginseng Wall. Tam
´
th
ˆ
at Root
Powder of
the root
13 49 220,000
3
3
80,000
ASTERACEAE
Arctium lappa L. ba`ngNgu’u Root 120 48 7 25,000
3
30,000
Cynara scolymus L. Actisoˆ Leaves
Flower 41 120,000
3
20,000
Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni)
Hemsley
C’o ngot
˙
Leaves 46 8 30,000
Saussurea lappae C.B.
Clarke
hu’o’ngM
ˆ
oc
˙
Root
3
50,000
AURICULARIACEAE
Auricularia auricula (L. ex
Hook.) Underw.
nhı˜M
ˆ
oc
˙
Mushroom 127
3
29 12 12 13 35,000
BERBERIDACEAE
Epimedium sagittatum
Maxim.
Daˆ m d u’o’ng
´
ho
ˇ
ac
Leaves
3
40,000
CLUSIACEAE
Garcinia Cowa Roxb. Tai chua Fruit 20
3
24 7 9 5 45,000
1
Price in
F
per kg.
`
ˆ
ong

2005] 381VIETNAMESE MEDICINAL PLANTS
T
ABLE
1. C
ONTINUED
.
Botanic name Vietnamese name
Part of the
plant consumed
Number of stalls in the Hanoi markets
`
–
D
ˆ
ong
Xuaˆn
Long
Bieˆn
Ha´ng
Da
H’ai
Thu’o’ng
˙
Ha`ng
Be`
`
C
ˆ
au
M
´
o’i
19–12
market
Cho’
˙
Mo’
Cho’
˙
Hoˆm
Average
price
Sapa shops
Average
price
CUCURBITACEAE
Momordica grosvenori
Swingle
La ha´n Fruit 20 20,000
EUROMMIACEAE
Eucommia ulmoides Oliv.
˜
-D
ˆ
o trong
˙
Bark
3
40,000
FABACEAE
Cassia grandis L. f. Canh ki na Fruit
3
70,000
Desmodium styracifolium
(Osbeck) Merr.
Kim
`
ti
ˆ
en th’ao Leaves 10 10,000
3
25,000
Gleditsia fera (Lour.) Merr.
Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch.
Psoralea corylifolia L.
`´
B
ˆ
ok
ˆ
et
Cam th’ao
Pha´
´
c
ˆ
o ch’i
Fruit
Root, stem
Fruit
100 45
1
35
7,000
30,000
3
200,000
GANODERMATACHEAE
Ganoderma lucidum (Leyss.
ex Fr.) Karst. Linh chi
Mushroom 70 48 400,000
3
400,000
ILLICIACEAE
Illicium verum Hook. F. et
Thoms.
`
H
ˆ
oi Flower 110 7 5 8 11 50,000
3
35,000
IRIDACEAE
Eleutherine bulbosa (Mill.)
Urb.
Saˆm ha`nh
-
dai
˙
Root
3
15,000
LAURACEAE
Cinnamomum cassia Presl.
´
Qu
ˆ
e Bark 30 17 6 4 11 9 3 30,000
MALVACEAE
Althaea rosea (L.) Cav. quy`Thuc
˙
Root
3
60,000
MORACEAE
Artocarpus tonkinensis A.
Chev. ex Gagnep.
Chay Fruit
Bark
3
10 50,000
15,000

382 [VOL. 59ECONOMIC BOTANY
T
ABLE
1. C
ONTINUED
.
Botanic name Vietnamese name
Part of the
plant consumed
Number of stalls in the Hanoi markets
`
–
D
ˆ
ong
Xuaˆn
Long
Bieˆn
Ha´ng
Da
H’ai
Thu’o’ng
˙
Ha`ng
Be`
`
C
ˆ
au
M
´
o’i
19–12
market
Cho’
˙
Mo’
Cho’
˙
Hoˆm
Average
price
Sapa shops
Average
price
MYRTACEAE
Cleistocalyx operculatus
(Roxb.) Merr. et Perry
´
V
ˆ
oi Flower bud
3
5 20,000
Syzygium aromaticum (L.)
Merr. et Perry
;-Dinh hu’o’n g Flower 5 150,000
PANDACEAE
Pandanus tonkinensis Mart.
ex Stone
D
´
u’a d ai
˙
Fruit 45 15,000
3
15,000
PIPERACEAE
Piper nigrum L. tieˆuHat
˙
Fruit 29 12 14 7 30,000
PLEUROTACEAE
Lentinus edodes (Berk.)
Singer
;
´
N
ˆ
a m h u’o’n g Mushroom 120
3
27 8 12 14 13 13 110,000
3
140,000
POLYGONACEAE
Polygonum cuspidatum Sieb.
et Zucc.
khı´
´
C
ˆ
ot c’u Root
3
40,000
Polygonum multiflorum
Thumb. ex Murray
Ha`oˆth’u Root 43 25,000
3
30,000
RANUNCULACEAE
Aconitum fortunei Hemsl. ta`u
´
ˆ
Au Root
3
200,000
Coptis chinensis Franch. Hoa`ng lieˆn Root
3
250,000
ROSACEAE
Docynia indica (Wall.)
Decne
Ta´o me`o Dry fruit
3
20,000
RUBIACEAE
Morinda officinalis How Ba kı´ch tı´m Root
3
40,000
RUTACEAE
Clausena excavata Burm. f.
´
M
ˇ
ac m
ˆ
at
˙
Fruit 18 40,000
Euodia lepta (Spreng.) Merr. Che`
-
´
d
ˇ
ang Leaves 30 8 100,000
3
100,000

2005] 383VIETNAMESE MEDICINAL PLANTS
T
ABLE
1. C
ONTINUED
.
Botanic name Vietnamese name
Part of the
plant consumed
Number of stalls in the Hanoi markets
`
–
D
ˆ
ong
Xuaˆn
Long
Bieˆn
Ha´ng
Da
H’ai
Thu’o’ng
˙
Ha`ng
Be`
`
C
ˆ
au
M
´
o’i
19–12
market
Cho’
˙
Mo’
Cho’
˙
Hoˆm
Average
price
Sapa shops
Average
price
SCROPHULARIACEAE
Adenosma caeruleum R. Br. Nhaˆn
`
tr
ˆ
an Leaves 39 3 8 12,000
SOLANACEAE
Lycium chinense Mill. K’yt’u’ Fruit 46 60,000
STEMONACEAE
Stemona tuberosa Lour. Ba´ch b
ˆ
o
˙
Root
3
20,000
TREMELLACEAE
Tremella fuciformis Berk. nhı˜;
´
M
ˆ
oc tr
ˇ
ang
˙
Mushroom 4 12 45,000
VITACHEAE
Ampelopsis cantoniensis
(Hook. et Arn.) Planch.
Che`daˆy Leaves, vine 38 10 16,000
3
7,000
ZINGIBERACEAE
Amomum aromaticum Roxb. Th’ao qu’a Fruit 70 6 11 6 5 85,000
Curcuma zedoaria (Berger)
Roscoe
-
Ngh
ˆ
e den
˙
Root
3
75,000

384 [VOL. 59ECONOMIC BOTANY
sometimes live a considerable distance away.
Some of those who live in distant villages re-
main in Sapa the whole weekend, sleeping in
rooms they share with other fellow Hmong or
Dao. Others, who live in villages closer to Sapa,
go back to their village on Saturday evening and
return to Sapa on Sunday morning.
M
EDICINAL
P
LANTS IN
S
APA
AND
H
ANOI
The results of the survey are presented in Ta-
ble 1. For each medicinal plant, the table shows
its botanic name, its Vietnamese name, and the
part of the plant that is used. A total of 51 dif-
ferent plants were recorded in Sapa and Hanoi,
of which 44 were identified botanically. Among
the 44, 27 plants were recorded in Sapa, while
28 plants were recorded in Hanoi. Different
parts of some plants are sold (e.g., leaves and
flower, or fruit and bark) or the same part in a
different form (e.g., the entire root or the powder
of the root), which brings the total number of
medicinal plant products sold to 48 (28 in Sapa
and 29 in Hanoi).
The table also shows in which markets in Ha-
noi each medicinal plant was sold, as well as its
average price in Hanoi and Sapa. For each mar-
kets in Hanoi (except Long Bieˆn), the table in-
cludes the number of stalls where the medicinal
plants were sold. Unfortunately, in Sapa the
number of shops selling each medicinal plant
could not be recorded. The prices varied both
during the season and during the day, depending
on whether the shop owner had sold something
or not. If a shop owner had made no sale during
the morning, he or she would reduce the price
in the afternoon so as to make at least one sale
during that day. Table 1 gives the average price,
but had the shop owners been interviewed dur-
ing a different time of the day, the price given
might have been somewhat different.
By far the greatest proportion of medicinal
plants sold in Sapa were purchased by Vietnam-
ese tourists making the trip there to escape from
the lowland heat, who took the opportunity to
buy the medicinal plants put up for sale in the
town. These visitors reported several reasons for
their purchases.
First, the plants were sometimes unavailable
in their home towns. Some of the medicinal
plants on sale in Sapa were not available in other
cities, especially smaller ones. Table 1 shows
that only 10 of the 28 medicinal plant products
sold in Sapa were also on sale in the nine mar-
kets surveyed in Hanoi. However, it is likely that
at least some of the remaining 18 medicinal
plant products were sold in other markets in Ha-
noi not covered in the survey.
Second, some visitors reported that they pre-
ferred to purchase medicinal plants in Sapa rath-
er than in their home cities because of the lower
prices in Sapa. However, this may not be the
case for the visitors from Hanoi. Table 1 shows
that of the 10 medicinal plants that are sold both
in Hanoi and Sapa, four are cheaper in Hanoi
than in Sapa, three are cheaper in Sapa than in
Hanoi, and three have the same price in Hanoi
and Sapa. In any case, given the considerable
cost of a trip to Sapa, the lower price of medic-
inal plants is not likely the most important rea-
son for Vietnamese tourists to travel to Sapa.
Third, they bought them in Sapa as a souvenir
from their holidays or for ‘‘emotional’’ reasons.
The proximity to their habitat of origin led peo-
ple to believe that the medicinal plants on sale
there were of better quality than those on sale in
the lowland markets.
Apart from Vietnamese tourists who buy me-
dicinal plants for personal consumption, traders
from Vietnam or China occasionally order large
quantities of specific medicinal plants from
wholesalers in Sapa. The latter inform the plant
collectors about these orders and the price they
are willing to pay. This information is then
spread by word of mouth.
C
ONCLUSIONS
The market for medicinal plants in Sapa ap-
pears to be sustained by Vietnamese middle-
class tourists, whose number has increased sub-
stantially during the last years. Although the
purchase of medicinal plants is not the primary
purpose for visiting the highlands, the market
created by this growing demand has become
very important for the economic and social lives
of the Hmong and the Dao. Some medicinal
plants are grown, but most are gathered near the
fields or in the forest, often when people return
from other activities. Thus, it is a source of cash
which necessitates little work, even though the
trip to the market might be very time consum-
ing. The sale of medicinal plants is the main
source of income for many households and vil-
lages, but it is not important only for financial
reasons. The sale of medicinal plants gives an
excuse to the members of the ethnic minority

2005] 385VIETNAMESE MEDICINAL PLANTS
groups who live in the district and beyond to
make the trip to Sapa during the weekend, where
they can meet and socialize, establish or renew
friendships, widen their social networks, and
sometimes find a spouse. Especially for young
people who live in small, fairly isolated hamlets,
these are important social activities. Thus, the
market for medicinal plants is an instrument that
helps the ethnic minorities to fulfill their needs
for a social life beyond the village.
A
CKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank Dr. Yoko Hayami, Dr. Kono Yasuyuki, Dr. Tran
Duc Vien, Mr. Ngo Van Tu, Ms. Hoang Minh Nguyet, Ms. Tuyen
Nghiem, and Ms. Theresa Wong for their help. The financial contribution
of the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science is gratefully ac-
knowledged.
L
ITERATURE
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