“We are wrapping up a large morel mushroom crop,” says Joe Salvo with Ponderosa Mushrooms. The company harvests wild mushrooms as well as a full line of specialty mushrooms. In North America, 2015 supplies of morel mushrooms were large due to the high number of forest fires last year. “Forest fires sterilize the ground and morel mushrooms are the first thing to grow out the following spring,” mentioned Salvo. “Morels continue growing until the mushroom finishes its cycle or until competition in the ground (e.g. grass) pushes them out.”
Photo credit: Erik Gessinger
Photo credit: Erik Gessinger
In addition to North America, other significant producers such as Turkey, India and Pakistan had good crops as well this year. “This resulted in a much needed price correction. Prices are still strong, but considerably lower than in the previous few years,” declared Salvo. Ponderosa’s morels are distributed within North America and exported to Europe.
North America and Europe main chanterelle consumers
“This time of the year, we import fresh chanterelles from Belarus, Lithuania and Estonia,” said Salvo. “We also grow chanterelles ourselves, but production moves with the change of seasons. The West Coast of North America is the last chanterelle supplier on the globe during the calendar year.” Salvo shared that Europe is an important chanterelle export market for North America. “The export season starts in October and goes on through December.” North America and Europe are the world’s main chanterelle consuming regions.
Matsutake’s go to Japan
Another important export variety for Ponderosa is the pine mushroom, also called matsutake. It is mainly exported to Japan. “Typically, we start production in September and the export season continues through December. If we are lucky, we can start harvesting in August and will get four months of exports,” said Salvo.
Consumers willing to pay for specialty varieties“Demand for wild and specialty mushrooms is going up,” said Salvo. Consumers have become aware of the health benefits and are willing to pay for a specialty mushroom. “Retailers put effort into merchandising specialty mushrooms as soon as they realize there is a clientèle for it. More and more, I notice retailers are starting to service the demand for specialty varieties.“
Transportation from Northern Canada
One of Ponderosa’s biggest challenges is the transportation of mushrooms. The majority of the company’s mushrooms are grown in Northern Canada and transportation distances are sometimes more than 1,000 kilometers depending on where they are distributed to. “Proper transportation and keeping the product fresh will remain a challenge,” mentioned Salvo.
For more information:
Joe Salvo
Ponderosa Mushrooms
Tel: (+1) 604-945-9700