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Nakhon Nayok (Thailand): Giant snails cross a plate of pumpkin and cucumber in central Thailand, an "organic" diet to tease the precious mucus of collagen-rich molluscs, which for some cosmetics companies now more valuable than gold.
The snails of the Phatinisiri Thangkeaw Farm were once the scourge of rice farmers, reluctant to eat the buds of new crops.
"The farmers threw them on the roads or in the rivers," said Phatinisiri.
"But now they're selling them to me to make some extra money."
With his 1,000 snails, the teacher earns between 320 USD (1,315 RMB) and 650 USD (2,670 RMB) a month.
It is one of 80 farms in Nakhon Nayok province, two hours from the capital Bangkok, and benefits from the world's estimated $ 314 million snail beauty market, according to the group. Coherent Market Insights. .
The precious mud is patiently "pulled from the milk" of the snail glands by flushing it with the help of a pipette.
Its raw form is sold to Aden International, a Thai-based cosmetics company that mainly ships its products to Korea and the United States.
The only producer of snail mud in Thailand, Aden was launched three years ago as a solution to the business problem of snail infestation in Nakhon Nayok, said founder Kitpong Puttarathuvanun.
And his bet has paid off: Kitpong sells the serum under the Acha brand, but also provides Korean and US cosmetics companies with a dry powder at 58,200 USD (392,200 RMB) per kilogram, he said.
Gold is currently worth 46,300 USD (189,800 RMB) per kilogram.
Compared to the Aden snail slime, mucus produced in China – a daily unit of water instead of once every three weeks in Thailand – is estimated at around USD 2,600 per kilogram, Kitpong said.
"We discovered that our slime was very intense because snails eat everything, including vegetables, cereals and even mushrooms … producing a good quality slime," he explained, explaining that mucus can be used to heal sunburns and "heal wounds".
Somkamol Manchun, the doctor in charge of the purification process, said the snail mucus contains collagen and elastin – ingredients that "can firm the skin by reducing the number of wrinkles".
It "triggers skin cells … and helps heal the skin".
For the moment, no scientific study has been done on the healing qualities of serum and snail slime, but Phatinisiri, a snail farmer, already feels that the market is heating up.
Two years ago, she was the first in the region to try to cultivate slime, and the villagers easily gave her what they considered pests.
"Now I'm buying snails at about 1 USD (4.11 RM) a kilogram," she said.
"But many people work in snail farms in Thailand.
"The competition is very strong." – AFP
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