Korean Mushrooms captivating the world’s appetite

The Greenpeace Mushroom farm located in Cheongdo-gun in Gyeongsangbuk-do is running big automatic rotary lathes to provide a consistent temperature for all of its mushrooms. The mushrooms produced in growing rooms are moved through a conveyor system to sorting rooms where workers select the freshest mushrooms for export. These mushrooms will go to as many as 20 countries around the world, including the US, Canada, and some European countries.

The Greenpeace Mushroom Company was established in 2002 with the goal of producing winter mushrooms (also called “enokitake”) for export. The founder, Park Hee-joo, first engaged in cultivation of oyster mushrooms in 1983. A decade later, in 1994, when oyster mushrooms were still produced manually, Mr. Park built the first Greenpeace farm to cultivate winter mushrooms mechanically and in large quantities. He began exports to the US and Canada in 1998 and, by extending the market to Europe in 2005, was able to start exports of the mushrooms in earnest. Now with more than 400 workers, Greenpeace Mushroom has evolved into a robust agricultural company. It runs nine farms producing 10,800 tons of winter mushrooms, king oyster mushrooms, and beech mushrooms every year. Annual sales are posted at KRW3.5 billion.

To maintain the freshness of the mushrooms as long as possible, the products go through pre-cooling before shipping. Only the freshest mushrooms are sorted out and packed. That is why the Greenpeace king oyster mushrooms boast a texture as chewy as meat - a point favored by European consumers. The Greenpeace Mushroom Company has its own research lab where they strive to improve quality, develop new varieties, and respond quickly to problems such as plant diseases and pests. The company spares no effort to maintain a good growth environment in the cultivation facilities, so that the production is safe and hygienic. As a result of this hard work, the company was able to obtain the European GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) certification in 2006 and HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Product) certification in 2008. The certifications further increased the value of Greenpeace mushrooms. The certification for using no agrochemicals also proves the safety of the products.

Building Farms Overseas and Setting the Export Goal for 2015 at USD$30 million Greenpeace Mushroom is trying hard to pioneer into the overseas markets and break free from relying exclusively on buyers. Targeting the European markets, it has established its own overseas distribution company, Green Mushroom Farm B.V, in the Netherlands. Since June of last year, it has been focusing its efforts on expanding the markets in the Netherlands and Germany.

In addition, Greenpeace is keen on building its own overseas mushroom farms so that foreign consumers can always enjoy the high-quality mushrooms. Eom Se-chan, head of trade department of Greenpeace Mushroom, expects that the company will be able to expand the markets and increase their sales as the production rises due to the establishment of the overseas farms. He adds that the company has set the goal of reaching USD$30 million in exports by 2015.

Source: Korea AgraFood