After a tough decline in processed mushrooms in 2009, the industry seems to be recovering. With a 158 million kilos this year, production is getting close to the 160 million it churned out in 2007. “Canned food didn’t do too well for a while,” says mushroom grower Arno van den Oord. “Now the industry is stabilizing.”
Fellow producer Annelotte Crena de Iongh of The Greenery sees a shift in consumer interest from processed to fresh, even organic foods. “A development that is expected to last.”
In the field of marketing and promoting processed mushrooms, a lot still has to be done. Grower Paul Verhoeckx sees ample room for improvement: “You can compare mushrooms with potatoes. In the old days you sold plain old potatoes. Now they come in all shapes and sizes. When dealing with mushrooms, you should really do the same. We have to make people aware of the endless possibilities with mushrooms.” “A bit more money for promotion wouldn’t hurt either,” says Arno van den Oord.
The Greenery has done just that: promote the versatility of the mushroom. For starters, it introduced a ready-for-the-grill package containing sliced mushrooms with spices and butter.
Another innovation exploring the market right now: a mushroom picking robot. According to their website, CCM has developed a fully automatic mushroom picking robot, in co-operation with mushroom growers. The robot picks only the mushrooms that have the desired size. Vision and image processing determine the mushrooms that are to be picked.
Growers are sceptical: “I’m not convinced it works,” says Tonny Hooijmans. “In practice, such a devise is hard to operate.” Annelotte Crena de Iongh says that once again, it all depends on costs. “These robots are still way too expensive to compensate for labour costs.”