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At the opening of the conference. (Prof. S.T. Chang far left, Prof. Yu Li second from right).
which starts with the selection and treatment of the raw materials. “I have even spoken to a composter who did- n’t know what type of straw he was using.” Incredible ac- cording to Taylor, who worked as a compost manager at Monterey for many years. He advised Chinese compost makers not just to look at the price when buying raw materials, but always to choose value for money.
Trade show After the welcome banquet on 19 November (see centre pages), the conference proper started on 20 November with a symposium themed around the financial aspects for Chinese growers (private capital, investment pos- sibilities, listing on the stock exchange). This turned out to be the only negative of the event; simultaneous interpreters had been enlisted, and the staff did their utmost best, but the audio installation often failed to function, or only partially. But not to worry, the national and international participants had the chance to meet around 50 suppliers whose stands had been set up in and around the hotel. To name a few; West-Europe
Audience during the lectures in the conference hall.
was represented by the Christiaens Group and Fancom, Japan by Tanaka Giken Industries, Korea by D.M.S. Korea and China by China Lian Yungang Guoxin Mushroom, the latter three are all large machine engineering companies, constructing mainly for exotic mushroom cultivation. And, many Chinese companies who – as expected – mainly source their customers in the Asian exotic growing world.
Agaricus in China A very interesting lecture was the personal and in- sightful account by Professor Yi Huang from the Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University. In his opinion, China lags 40 years behind the west in the field of white button mushrooms. Fujian used to be home to many production and processing companies, but the pull of the city has resulted in a lack of labour and a rise in wages. There is also a shortage of raw materials, as many farmers have swapped their wheat crops for rice, so the straw price has increased. Aside from these, Yi Huang also pinpointed certain other important factors contributing
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Christiaens Group had a large stand outside the hotel (Director Mart Christiaens left).
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