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The mushrooms are picked in the grades fine and medium. The closest farm that supplies Prime Champ is next door to the distribution centre.


to be placed in szokers, or rapid cooling chillers, as soon as possible post-harvest before the mushrooms arrive here by lorry. We really have to excel in quality and beat the Dutch and the Irish, otherwise we cannot survive as a business. And the growers mustn’t make promises they cannot keep either. Rough roads and long distances are part and parcel of Poland. Of course we could export to Russia, but that’s a long way too. The border is often closed for one reason or another, and there are other problems as well. Despite that, by now I think that 70% of the mushrooms produced in the east of Poland find their way to Russian consumers.”


Domestic market Kurzawa mentions the high transport costs, and the competition they face from the Netherlands and Ireland. “If we want to achieve growth, we will have to open up other markets. We can handle growth, but it mustn’t happen too fast. Once the PO has been established there


are some growers who want to start phased expansion so that we have higher production to find new markets for. We are working hard on that behind the scenes. We are also in contact with small, local growers who could serve the domestic market well.” Partly due to the huge flow of mushrooms as an export product, the domestic market has always been overlooked and neglected, but according to Barbara Beker that situation is gra- dually changing. “All Polish supermarkets now have mushrooms on their shelves. For producers it’s important that more diversity is introduced in packaging and sizes. Our group has short communication lines, the coopera- tion is good, and we can take decisions fast if necessary. At the moment we don’t sell anything under contract in Poland, just individual lots. Polish retailers have to work hard on improving the merchandise presentation and put the mushrooms in chilled cabinets. This develop- ment is slowly starting to gain ground. We have to see to it that we promote our home-grown mushrooms. The wild mushrooms that everyone gathers in the woods still make the headlines because people die after eating poi- sonous ones. That’s bad news for mushrooms in general, but we have to seize it as an opportunity to promote our clean, safe mushrooms to the public.”◗


“Masterclass Mushroom growing and composting”


The Mushroom Masterclass has proved itself, and is here to stay! Organised by Mushroom Office, The 4th Masterclass will be held from 10 to 15 March 2014. Why do you need to join in? Today’s world of mushrooms is a fast-paced, high technology industry , that requires a constant stream of new inputs. One of the problems for growers is that this new input is sometimes hard to achieve, where do you look for it? By following a professional training, by professionals, you can bring your own growing to the next level. Both Mark den Ouden and John Peeters have spent a lifetime in between mushrooms, and both guys are working as consultants and trainers in various parts of the world as we speak. They shared a number of years together at C point, and have taught mushroom growing before, guaranteeing a perfect interaction between the two of them and the participants of the training. It will be held before a maximum of 16 people, to create a lot of interaction and discussions between the participants and/or the trainers. Harvesting techniques and harvest management will be given by guest speaker Theo Haegens. The location for the training is the Horst area, in the Netherlands. The everyday practice of the participants will be the foundation for the theory within the course; companies will be visited as well, like composting plants, growing farms, and others. Please look at www.mushroomoffice.com for the latest news and a training program as well as registration forms and hotel informa- tion. The investment for the training is € 1170,- for 6 days (excl. VAT), including lunches and transportation to and from the hotel and to the companies that will be visited. The next course will be organised from 3 to 8 November 2014.


www.mushroomoffice.com


Mark Den Ouden, Mushroom Office John Peeters, John Peeters Mushroom Consulting


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