@article{Shirai_Rambo_2008, title={The economic value of edible wild and semi-domesticated species sold in an urban market in Khon Kaen municipality in Northeast Thailand}, volume={36}, url={https://li01.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/agkasetkaj/article/view/250230}, abstractNote={<p><span dir="ltr">Previous research on wild food species in Northeast Thailand has focused mostly on their use by rural</span><span dir="ltr">households, both as a source of food for their own consumption and as products that they collect to sell to gain cash</span><span dir="ltr">income. Research about the marketing of wild products is limited, however, and studies of wild food species in urban</span><span dir="ltr">markets are especially sparse. To help fill this information gap, this paper presents the results of an investigation of</span><span dir="ltr">the economic value of all edible wild and semi-domesticated species of plants, fungi, and animals sold in urban</span><span dir="ltr">markets in Khon Kaen municipality. This paper reports findings of a survey that was conducted during 2006 in Bang</span><span dir="ltr">Lam Phu market, which is the central fresh market in Khon Kaen municipality, the capital of Khon Kaen province, in</span><span dir="ltr">the Northeastern region of Thailand. The survey included identification of all species of plants, fungi, and animals</span><span dir="ltr">being sold and recording of the quantities and prices of each species. The average daily value of sales for all 81</span><span dir="ltr">species of edible wild and semi-domesticated products in the dry season was 32,702 baht/day (US$ 919), which can</span><span dir="ltr">be extrapolated to a total sales values for the whole 206 day long dry season of 6.7 million baht (US$ 189,231).</span><span dir="ltr">The comparable figures for the 159 day long rainy season are 45,530 baht/day (US$ 1,279) for a seasonal total of</span><span dir="ltr">7.2 million baht (US$ 203,350). When these sample data are extrapolated to the whole year, the estimated total</span><span dir="ltr">annual sales value of wild and semi-domesticated products in 2006 is almost 14 million baht (US$ 392,581).</span><span dir="ltr">Although this is only an order-of-magnitude estimate, it suggests that wild and semi-domesticated foods have</span><span dir="ltr">considerable economic significance in the urban context in Northeast Thailand. Of the 81 species sold in the market,</span><span dir="ltr">plant products had the highest total annual value (7.7 million baht), followed by animals (5.7 million baht) and fungi</span><span dir="ltr">(508,000 baht). Insects (2.3 million baht), crustaceans (1.6 million baht), and amphibians (1.5 million baht) accounted</span><span dir="ltr">for most of the value of animal products sold over the course of the year. The number of species available in the</span><span dir="ltr">market is affected by the seasons. In the rainy season, 44 species of plants were on sale with an average daily sales</span><span dir="ltr">value of 32,007 baht. In the dry season, the number of species decreased to 35 and the average daily sales value</span><span dir="ltr">declined to only 12,674 baht. Fungi were found only in the rainy season. Because all six species are completely wild</span><span dir="ltr">they are now rare products with an average daily value of sales of only 3,200 baht. Fourteen species of animals were</span><span dir="ltr">available in the dry season and 15 species in the rainy season but their average daily value in the dry season (20,028</span><span dir="ltr">baht) was considerably greater than in the rainy season (10,324 baht). Prices vary from a few baht per kilogram (for</span><span dir="ltr">common plants like phak bung na) to more than one hundred baht per kilogram (some rare animals). There are also</span><span dir="ltr">major differences in the total quantities of different species sold in the market ranging from only a few kilograms per</span><span dir="ltr">year for some animal species to nearly 100,000 kilograms for the most abundant plant species. In general, there</span><span dir="ltr">appears to be a negative correlation between sales prices (baht/kilogram) and total quantities of these products, so</span><span dir="ltr">that those species in the most abundant supply fetch the lowest prices. Heavy urban demand for these products may</span><span dir="ltr">also be a force encouraging rural people to try to domesticate high value species that are becoming increasingly</span><span dir="ltr">rare and difficult to find in the wild. This study’s finding of the high economic value of wild food products sold in an</span><span dir="ltr">urban market suggests that more investment in research on domestication of these species may be justified.</span></p>}, number={1}, journal={วารสารแก่นเกษตร}, author={Shirai, Yuko and Rambo, A. Terry}, year={2008}, month={มี.ค.}, pages={69–78} }