Cattle Gallstones Are Worth an Absolute Fortune — and the USDA Wants American Farmers to Get Involved
Think the price of beef is high? You should see the cost of cattle gallstones.
Cattle gallstones have been used for millennia in Chinese medicine, most often to assist stroke victims. And it's got some bonafide science to back it up. However, over the last decade or so, the gallstone business has exploded, creating an underground market that's leaving some cattle farmers around the world worried — and U.S. officials suggesting farmers get involved.
Cow Gallstones explained that the gallstones are found in the gallbladder of cattle (usually older cattle) and are typically "round, oval or pyramidal" with a "golden yellow, orange-brown or dark brown color." They are assessed in quality by their size, color, texture, and state of conservation —eerily close to how a diamond is graded. And, like diamonds, Cattle gallstones are actually easy to come by.
After popping my email into a few websites, my inbox is now a venerable bidding ground for those looking to sell me gallstones. But like a precious gem, they come at a price. "$1,000 per ton," one seller quoted. Another offered "$90 per kilogram," while one more said I could buy it for "$45 a gram." Not quite diamond prices, but still a hefty sum.
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Some sellers sent photos; others dropped their WhatsApp details to negotiate. The demand has grown so intense that the South China Morning Post dubbed gallstones "the new gold," prompting the U.S. Department of Agriculture to send out a notice encouraging farmers to take another look at this booming business.
One seller even boasted, "Our stones have a natural smell of healthy, BSE-free cattle," and sweetened the deal by offering liver stones, kidney stones, piping, moldy stones, bloodstones, cholesterol stones, and stones from other animals.
Here's what you need to know about the booming cattle gallstone market.
As researchers from the College of Pharmacy at Chengdu University in Chengdu, China explained in a recent paper, gallstones, also known as "bovis calculus," have been used to treat cardio-cerebrovascular issues for more than two millennia in China. "According to the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, this substance is described as having a cooling and sweet nature and is associated with the heart and liver meridians," the researchers wrote. "It is known for its ability to cleanse the heart, eliminate phlegm, induce resuscitation, cool the liver, relieve wind-related symptoms, and detoxify the body."
The USDA reported that Hong Kong's global imports of ox gallstones grew by 66% from 2019 to 2023, reaching a whopping $218 million. Brazil and the United States are the top suppliers, as "Hong Kong has minimal cattle production; it is unlikely to produce sufficient ox gallstones to satisfy market demand."One supplier from the Netherlands shared via email, "Yes, there [has] been an increase in demands in the past year so far. [The] supply comes from the U.S., and we have a major market there."
In an additional notice, the USDA noted that "U.S. beef processing plants should take 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." It added that these stones are "either sold as natural gallstones or combined with other ingredients as a proprietary Chinese medicine" and retail for as high as $65 per gram.
The major markets are Australia, the U.S., New Zealand, Argentina, and Brazil. However, here's the thing: Gallstones are incredibly rare. According to the South China Morning Post, the chances of finding one in a cow are about one in 1,000. And that's leading suppliers to sell them under the table to ensure they pocket every last dollar from each sale, along with leading thieves to ransack slaughterhouses any chance they get. The Wall Street Journal reported in early 2025, armed robbers broke into a farmhouse in São João da Boa Vista, tied up the owners, and vanished into the night with $50,000 in gallstones. In 2015, a New Zealand man was arrested and charged with stealing gallstones worth $20,000 a kilogram over the course of six months.
The science of cattle gallstones is rather strong. According to a 2025 review by scientists at the College of Pharmacy at Chengdu University in Chengdu, China, gallstones have the power to treat brain damage caused by interrupted blood flow caused by strokes. This, they noted, is due to certain parts of the gallstones, including the bile acids and amino acids, that can block harmful chemical processes in the brain. They can help improve blood flow in small vessels, lower oxidative stress (aka cell damage) immediately after a stroke, and reduce inflammation to protect the blood-brain barrier.
It can even encourage the growth of new blood vessels, aiding in the healing process. And as a 2024 study by Hong Kong University Med showed, the Angong pill, which contains gallstones, can extend the therapeutic window of a stroke by 30 minutes, reducing hemorrhaging and mortality rates — all of which push prices higher by the day.
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