Changes
Huang’s trips abroad were a real eye-opener, bringing him into contact with modern mush- room growing techniques. Qi: “The production costs are also increasing in China, particularly labour costs. Although they are not that high compared with costs in other parts of the world, salaries are rising quickly due to the relatively swift pace of growth of the Chinese economy. Mushroom production in the 1980s was hard work and involved an incredible input of hours. The traditional farms still exist, but often with- out a successor to carry on the business. Young people are prepared to work hard, but they don’t want to live just to work. Another factor is that traditional farms can’t produce in summer, and the production in the winter months is irregular and often falls short of providing a reasonable income. These farms are also mainly produce for canneries and companies that make semi-con- served mushrooms, and only keep a small proportion for the local, fresh market. Food safety is a foreign concept for traditional farms. So the future for this sector of the Chinese mushroom industry is very uncertain.” If you examine the market in China, it is notable that agaricus only occupies fourth place in the ranks of the most widely grown mushrooms. Heading the list are the shiitake and oyster mushroom. However, the market potential is simply staggering. The Chinese consume an estimated 20 kg of mushrooms per capita per year, and that with a population numbering almost 1.4 billion inhabitants. Jackie Qi: “The mushroom is definitely catching up. This is partly because mushrooms can be reliably produced on a large scale. Mr Huang recognised that fact, and in 2008 drafted his initial plans for the farm you see today. The choice quickly fell on the Dutch style
shelving system, as it is ultra modern, food safety can be guaranteed, it’s presentable and efficient.”
Jiangsu province
The site of the farm was also chosen with great care. It is located close to the east coast of China, roughly about 450 km north of Shanghai and 800 km south of Beijing. Qi: “The raw materials are readily available here. There is enough wheat straw, as well as chicken manure from local production. The sea is not too far away, which is important for transporting the peat we use to make our own casing soil. And we are also close to a major motorway hub, so our mushrooms can quickly be transported deeper inland. Another important factor is that the local authorities were willing to work along with our plans. There are about 40 mushroom farms in the region, but they do not grow white mushrooms. The author- ities are also glad to see that wheat straw is sold to us for compost production instead of being burnt by farmers on the fields. Burning straw releases pollution into the environment, which is another aspect that China as a nation still has to improve. Actually, by Chinese standards, the climate here is not all that bad.” At the time of the interview, the thermometer reached 40 degrees with an absolute humidity of more than 20 g/kg air. Apparently, things can get worse.
Chinese-Dutch cooperation Right from the offset, Huang’s plans were not modest. 144 growing rooms of more than 1000 square metres, with its own compost plant, marketing and sales, conserving factory, casing soil production… In the west ,the plans were discounted as being rather ludicrous, until Jack Lemmen from The Netherlands entered the
‘In Shanghai
alone, 200 tons of mushrooms are sold daily’
Thei Staaks, one of the Dutch consultants, at work.
Currently most of the mushrooms, often with the stems still attached, are picked in baskets, covered immediately in the corridor and transported with layers of ice. The lorries are insulated but do not have any cooling units.
CAC is applied by hand for better uniformity.
MUSHROOM BUSINESS 15
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
