search.noResults

search.searching

note.createNoteMessage

search.noResults

search.searching

orderForm.title

orderForm.productCode
orderForm.description
orderForm.quantity
orderForm.itemPrice
orderForm.price
orderForm.totalPrice
orderForm.deliveryDetails.billingAddress
orderForm.deliveryDetails.deliveryAddress
orderForm.noItems
Enoki no. 1


When I visited the Shanghai plant a year ago, I was amazed to see the vertical layout of the farms, where mushrooms were produced on multiple floors. Not amazing to Mr Yang: “Many of our farms have a vertical layout because of the huge cost of land. Also, energy costs are two thirds higher than in the USA, for example, and manual labour is difficult to find, so we have to be innovative in these respects.” At the time of our talk, a stunning 1200 farms produce Xuerong mushrooms, and five more farms are being built, for enoki, shimeji and king oyster cultivation. Enoki (enokitake or flammu- lina velutipes) is the most produced mushroom, comprising some 60% of total production of Xuerong. “It is so popular because it’s good, cheap and it can be cultivated year round, even in regions of China where no vegetables are supplied in winter.”


No Agaricus


Why - if you consider Xuerong’s number one position on the mushroom market - is the company not into white button mushrooms at all? Yang: “A major obstacle is the distribution system. Agaricus has a short shelf life and the Chinese distribution system lacks a good cool chain. And it is traditionally, for 90%, an indirect wholesale market system. Changing that system needs time. When Agaricus loses its white appearance, the price plunges from six to two RMB/kg. Enoki on the other hand, can survive at 20 degrees Celsius.” Another hurdle, says Yang, is the creation of production units for white button mushrooms. “Building a modern Agaricus farm is very expensive. An enoki farm can be built from scratch to production in eight months with all the knowhow at our fingertips. A white button farm takes some three years to build, and then you still have to start harvesting the mushrooms! You need good, new infrastruc- ture and knowhow, much of which has to be imported from countries like the Netherlands. I doubt if any of the modern Agaricus farms in China is making money yet.”


Enoki fi lls the gap


Yang believes that the Dutch suppliers, present en masse at the Chinese Mushroom Days, should move their production to China, to lower transportation/import costs. “I think white button has a potential of some 3000 tons per day, while less than 200 tons per day are being produced right now.”


However, in China, there is a growing gap right now between the rapidly falling production of white button mushrooms caused by the closure of traditional family farms, and the relatively slow rise of modern white button production.


President and chairman of Shang- hai Xuerong Biotechnology Co. Ltd., Mr Yongping Yang at the 10th Chi- nese Mushroom Days.


Bottle cultiva- tion of enoki at Xuerong in Shanghai. Fifth on the list of most produced mushroom varieties in China, it is the main produce of Xuerong.


Mr Yang confirmed that this gap can potenti- ally be filled with market expansion of enoki. “I totally agree with that outlook, and it’s one of the reasons that there is no future for white button in China in the next five years.” That is not to say that he would not be intere- sted in investing in white button production elsewhere though.


 MUSHROOM BUSINESS 21


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