The fruit and vegetable 
sector does not seem to be at rest. As Hans Deckers, chairman of the Association of German Mushroom and Cultivated Mushroom Growers (BDC), tells us, demand for brown mushrooms is currently good to very good, "but for some weeks we have had the problem that small to large parts of the crops suddenly die off," says Deckers. "This can lead to massive failures. Because the fatal thing is that this doesn't just apply to individual farms in Germany, but affects all of Europe. In exceptional cases, it was possible to make do with EU goods, but that is no longer the case. There are currently no goods on the free market."
Market gap cannot be compensated
"The market situation for brown mushrooms is quite desolate at the moment. Regardless of conventional or organic cultivation: this condition currently affects all farms without exception. Accordingly, there is great turmoil in the industry. We can only hope that this will calm down soon." The gap in the market cannot be compensated for easily either, he said, thanks in no small part to the very positive development of the brown mushroom so far. "Many farms have switched half of their production to brown mushrooms. Therefore, this can not be covered so easily, for example, by white mushrooms. If the trade wants brown mushrooms, that can't be served currently."
Failures of up to 60 percent
Moreover, this problem emerges during a market situation in which demand is very high but supply is very small. "As we know, there are some supply problems in the vegetable sector. Any item that can then only be offered marginally is a problem for the trade. Of course, it is important for us to be able to supply the goods. But with partial failures of at least ten to 20 percent or larger failures of up to 60 percent, there's not much we can do." Regional differences are also not apparent in this regard, he said. "It's like playing roulette. You can't discern anything at the start of cultivation either. A few days before the harvest, however, you will then be faced with a dead fruiting body."
Regarding white mushrooms, he said: "Both sales, quality and harvest volumes are at a good level. White mushrooms do not show any production problems. We all had to deal with massive price increases for substrates, energy, etc.. The trade has partially accommodated us in this regard, which is why we have been able to cover our running costs with the prices overall. But where it's all going, nobody knows at the moment."
For more information:
Bund Deutscher Champignon- und Kulturpilzanbauer e. V. (BDC)
Claire-Waldoff-Straße 7
10117 Berlin
Hans Deckers
Laura Lafuente
Tel.: +49 30 2000 65 26
Mobile: +49 17630522500
E-Mail: lafuente@derdeutschegartenbau.de
https://www.der-champignon.de