‪‎Mushroom Marketing in INDIA‬ (Point to remember & highlight)

Mushrooms are fleshy, spore-bearing reproductive structures of fungi.

For a long time, wild edible mushrooms have played an important role as a human food.

Mushroom production is completely different from growing green plants.

Mushrooms do not contain chlorophyll and therefore
depend on other plant material (the “substrate”) for their food.

Mushroom, a protein-rich wonder food which does not have any publicity as it deserves.

It is this precious vegetable that would solve the problem of protein malnutrition in our country.

Coffee pulp, either as a sole substrate or supplemented with other organic materials, can be used as a substrate for growing the edible mushrooms Pleurotus, Lentinula, and Auricularia.

Four types of mushrooms viz., white button, oyster, paddy straw and milky mushrooms have been adopted by farmers/ entrepreneurs at marginal and commercial scale in different parts of the country at present.

Mushroom cultivation is a well-established and profitable biotechnological process carried out worldwide on a large or small scale.

From a production standpoint, the white button mushroom has the highest growth rate and potential for production.

The supply and demand gap in the world trade of mushrooms and the shrinkage of production in countries like Taiwan and South Korea due to high labor costs would result in better market prices for Indian mushroom producers.

Cultivated mushrooms are edible fungi that grow on decaying organic matter, known as a substrate.

Mushrooms have a high nutritional value and are high in protein.

They are also a good source of vitamins (B1, B2, B12 and C), essential amino acids, and carbohydrates but are low in fat
and fibre and contain no starch.

It is also known to have medicinal values and certain varieties of mushrooms can inhibit growth of cancerous tumor.

Many by-products from agricultural production and food processing can be used as growing media in mushroom production.

The market for mushrooms continues to grow due to interest in their nutritional and health benefits.

The market for mushrooms has been expanding in recent years.

The trend is away from the canned product toward fresh and dried mushroom sales.

Recently The Packer, a produce industry weekly, reported that, according to a recent marketing survey, of the families that
purchased mushrooms in the previous year, 86% purchased button mushrooms and 70% purchased specialty species.

U.S. fresh-market sales are the largest market for mushrooms; an estimated 85 percent of total annual sales in CY 2007/08 were of mushrooms for the fresh market.

Currently, oyster mushrooms are currently being produced in Uganda for the dried export market.

Shiitake mushrooms have been commercially grown in the United States for over 20 years and are now well accepted by American gourmet markets.

Mushroom cultivation is a good example for the use of forestal not-timber resources.

The majority of mushrooms are grown in the border counties of Ulster, the North West, the Midlands and the South East.

As mushrooms become increasingly popular, consumers are searching for more and more variation within them in terms of colour, texture and shape of cap/length of stalk. The recent increase in demand for brown, oyster and shiitake mushrooms reflects this trend.

Demand for mushrooms is at a peak during the winter/spring /autumn months as they are used extensively in the preparation of hot vegetable based dishes.

Small-scale mushroom production is now being carried out in many rural and suburban peasant communities throughout the country.

The mushroom production was sold directly by mushroom growers to retailers who marketed it directly to consumers.

Mushrooms have been valued throughout the world as both food and medicine for thousands of years.

Mushrooms are gradually becoming popular as they are rich in minerals and vitamins and very low on fat and sugar.

Mushrooms are very popular in most of the developed countries and they are becoming popular in many developing countries like India.