Headline writers had an easy enough time coping with pork as the driver of Chinese inflation; it is, of course, just four-letters long and full of punning possibilities. You can imagine their dismay, then, to find that a new culprit was Codonopsis pilosula.
Yet the fate of this medicinal herb speaks volumes about China’s battle with inflation.
The root of C. pilosula has long been known to Chinese doctors for its usefulness in lowering blood pressure and strengthening the immune system. It shot to prominence in the financial world this week when the government vowed to punish hoarders of the herb, saying they had driven up the price of Chinese medicine and, in so doing, endangered the health of the population.