By Greg Seymour, Acting Foreign Correspondent

Zhangzhou in Fujian Province was once again the host city of Chinese Mushroom Days (CMD) on 17-19 November 2023, following a four-year hiatus due to Covid.

The weather was perfect – warm and dry for the entire 17th edition of Chinese Mushroom Days. A new venue, the Yuanshan Fliport Hotel, was the scene for the mushroom industry conference and expo that is focused on the button mushroom industry and has become an icon on the international mushroom calendar.

‘Reunion - Recovery – Restart’ was the theme for this year’s event which had three full days of presentations by speakers from all over the world as well as an extensive commercial exhibition on two floors of the hotel and surrounding outdoor areas.

The organizers, CFNA, reported 1500 delegates and 70 exhibitors attended this year’s event which was down about 50% on the 2019 edition, the last one before Covid. While attendance was a lower than usual, the vibe was positive with many enthusiastic personal reconnections taking place on the commercial stands and during networking events.

Straw as alternative substrate

After the traditional official opening speeches, the first day’s presentations got underway with a talk by Professor Li Yu from Jilin University on the better utilization of straw as an alternative substrate to produce a wide range of mushroom species. The emphasis on the need for improved environmental management could not be missed nor the importance of the role of the mushroom industry could play in enhanced environmental outcomes for China and the rest of the world.

Li demonstrated straw substrates not only gave comparable production to traditional wood-based substrates, they can significantly contribute to a better environment by utilising vast quantities of a ‘waste product’ that is often burnt by wheat growers.

Minimising the burning of wheat straw after harvest reduces air pollution, CO₂ emissions, and provides an economic stimulus in regional areas by enabling another valuable crop (mushrooms) to be produced before the straw returns to the environment via animal feeds, a base product for the extraction of bio-compounds, or as fertilizer/ soil amendment.

Professor Li Yu from Jilin University held a lecture on the better utilization of straw as an alternative substrate to produce a wide range of mushroom species

The future of casing

ISMS President Greg Seymour was the next presenter and provided delegates with an introduction to the recently released ‘Future of Casing’ report, and an overview of the upcoming 20th ISMS Congress and North American Mushroom Conference being held between 26-29 February in Las Vegas, USA.

Delegates learnt what was in the “Future of Casing” report and that they could obtain a free copy of the report from the ISMS website www.isms.biz. After sharing the key findings of the report with delegates, Seymour shared his personal priority take-outs from the report.

He said that it was clear that there was sufficient deep dug wet peat available in existing licensed bogs around Europe to supply the mushroom industry for at least the next 20-40 years. However, disruptions to peat use were likely to come from policies and regulations adopted by governments, regulators, and retailers that prevented peat use on a national or regional basis. Seymour highlighted the proposed DEFRA policy on banning the use of peat in the mushroom industry in England by 2030 as an example and advised that the policy included a ban on the selling of imported mushrooms grown on peat.

He also pointed out that there was currently no replacement for deep dug wet peat on the horizon so continued access to this product was essential for the economic well-being of the industry until an economically viable 100% non-peat casing became a reality. Consequently, the monitoring and management of the mushroom industry’s political and operating environment will be critical to how well mushroom groups are able to counter the impact of well-resourced and experienced ‘environmental and climate groups’ attempting to disrupt the supply and use of peat in the mushroom industry.

World Mushroom Day?

Dr Tan Qi from the Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences was the next speaker. Dr Qi began her presentation by recounting her recent visit to the FAO office in Rome to advocate for an official World Mushroom Day. FAO outlined the process the industry would need to follow, and indicated there was a good chance of success with a well-supported and professional submission.

Dr Qi then outlined the development and future trends in the specialty mushroom industry in China. Already the largest producer, the current and future industrialization of production will see China massively increase the supply of high-quality shiitake, Pleurotus spp., morels, and many other exotic mushrooms. The underlying challenge for producers is ensure their marketing programs are good enough to profitably sell all their extra production.

Positive panel

The afternoon session got underway with a panel session to discuss the question “What has happened in the world mushroom industry?” The panel consisted of Aleksandr Khrenov (Russian Growers Union), Jack Lemmen (GTL Europe), Ron Hegger (DMP) and Mart Christiaens (Christiaens Group) from The Netherlands, Chris Alonzo (Pietro Industries, USA), Sumio Ayusaw (Hokken, Japan) and Greg Seymour (ISMS).

Apart from providing their reflections on the situation during Covid, the group was asked what they felt about the future for the global mushroom industry. There was unanimous agreement that the future was positive but there would be some continuing pain for many in the industry for the next two to three years. This situation is likely to result in some rationalization across the sector.

Interestingly, it was reported that most growers and suppliers used the Covid period to review their businesses. This has resulted in leaner operations and lots of innovation industry wide so that as market conditions improve, the industry looks set for a relatively prosperous period.

International panel

Harvesting, marketing and Poland

Jack Lemmen from GTL Europe, based in the Netherlands, followed the panel session with an excellent presentation on improving productivity with two-handed picking. GTL now has harvesting systems in fourteen operations around the world where experience is demonstrating the use of tilting or modified traditional shelving, combined with an automated stem-cutting and mushroom packing system, makes picking up to 2.5 times faster than traditional systems. See also Mushroom Business 123 on harvesting systems.

Jack then talked about how to prepare farms for the future. He said the key tactic was to move air-handling units from the front of the growing rooms to the middle to free-up the working corridor for the installation of a mezzanine floor. Harvesters would still access rooms from the ground floor while the mezzanine floor would utilized for packing etc.

Tomasz Kuczmaszewski from Sylvan Australia was the next speaker. Tom provided delegates with an overview of the Australian mushroom industry and the efforts of its generic marketing program to increase mushroom consumption. Hanna Zielinska from Okechamp in Poland was up next and introduced her company’s vertically integrated operations before providing a brief overview of the mushroom industry situation in Poland.

Spawn

The last four speakers of the day gave presentations on various aspects of edible mushroom spawn. First up, Professor Zhang Jinxia from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Beijing provided delegates with a picture of developments in fungal spawn in China. Next, Dr Mark Wach from Sylvan International gave a presentation on trends and developments in the global spawn business using some highlights from Sylvan’s spawn research program.

Importantly, Mark said that the systems that Sylvan had successfully developed for Agaricus breeding and development were highly applicable to other exotic varieties such as Shiitake and Plurotis spp. Results from early work on these specialty mushrooms indicates there will be significant gains in their commercial quality and productivity performance over the next few years.

Dr Mark Wach from Sylvan International

Mr Eiichi Kimura from the Kinokkusu company in Japan then provided delegates with an insightful overview of the present situation and future challenges confronting the edible mushroom industry in Japan. The final speaker for the day was Dr Ji Junxia from Lambert spawn who gave an overview of the specialty mushroom market in North America and the advantages of Lambert’s SI product.

Night of Agaricus bisporus

The Button Mushroom Night dinner followed the first day’s presentations. There was an exciting vibe in the air as many delegates had the chance to catch up on four years of separation over a few wines and bijous (Chinese vodka). The buffet provided a great meal while the crowd was entertained by some excellent live music. The traditional acknowledgement of sponsors took place on stage with many well-known international identities participating in a mass ‘ganbei’ (bottoms-up toast)!

Interestingly, a video presentation by Fuyang City and Funan Country of Anhui Province on a major vertically integrated mushroom development currently under construction got proceedings underway. The sheer scale and complex planning of the initiative was mind-boggling. It is likely that many similar government-funded mushroom developments of this scale will occur in the foreseeable future as the government seeks to diversify the economy, spread wealth, stimulate economic growth, and look after the environment - particularly in regional areas.

Sponsors on stage at the Night of Agaricus bisporus

Tradefair

The Expo was made up of the usual major international players from Europe and North America, like Hoving, Christiaens Group and DMP, but Chinese international and domestic businesses provided the bulk of the exhibitors. Delegate interest in the products and services on display in the 70 exhibition booths was high. Detailed discussions between exhibitors and potential customers were observed on many stands and sitting areas throughout the event.

Specialty mushrooms

The second day’s program focused on specialty mushrooms. The morning got underway with a review and discussion of current and future production systems. This was followed by a session on the equipment available to support the various systems and mushroom types.

The afternoon program began with speakers talking on recent developments in the cultivation of morels (Morchella spp.) and black boletes (Phlebopus portentosus). This was followed with a series of presentations on the status of international markets for specialty mushrooms.

The final session consisted of a panel discussion looking at issues associated with China’s specialty mushroom industry going global. The day concluded with a Specialty Mushrooms dinner where guests were treated to a traditional Chinese banquet. The lively networking continued from the night before with a great deal of fervour.

The Day 3 program got underway with presentations on straw utilization for mushroom production followed a panel session on the topic. The morning session concluded with presentations on the review and discussion of production technology development for the Wine Cap mushroom (Stropharia rugosoannulata), the cracking Shiitake (Lentinula edodes), and the Bamboo or Wedding Veil mushroom (Dictyophora rubrovolvata).

The final session of the event provided a series of presentations and a panel session on the culinary aspects of edible mushrooms. Several of the speakers focused on developments in the ‘food service’ and ‘prepared dishes’ market segments while the panel discussed where the whole market was heading and where opportunities might lie.

Expo Stands outside the hotel.

Conclusion

Overall, the organizers can be well pleased with the 17th edition of Chinese Mushroom Days, the first since 2019 when Covid intervened. On all counts CMD 2023 was a success for delegates, exhibitors and sponsors. With next year’s event back at its traditional venue and likely to attract a bigger audience as the world progresses to a ‘new Normal’, its easy to understand why Chinese Mushroom Days is such an important event for the global mushroom industry.

After many farewells and promises to catch-up in Las Vegas for the ISMS Congress and North American Mushroom Conference, it was time for many international guests to head for Xiamen airport to board flights for all parts of the globe or stay-on in China to travel to mushroom destinations across the country.

Copyright ? Mushroom Business 2023, first published in Mushroom Business no. 122. Republished with permission by the publisher Global Roel Media BV. www.mushroombusiness.com