June 15 2007, 08:20

Ukrainian consumers are poorly informed about the useful properties of cultivated mushrooms

The second international conference Mushroom Industry 2007 was finished yesterday in the National Complex "Expocenter of Ukraine"; the participants of the event informed about a lot of very interesting facts related to the situation in mushroom industry of Ukraine and the perspectives of its development. It was interesting to observe that the production of cultivated mushrooms in Ukraine grows by the fastest rates in Europe - it annually increases 25-30%. The experts say, Ukraine has excelled even Russia as for champignon and oyster mushroom production.

At the same time, Maxim Kuznetsov, the General Director of "Kvity-Service", one of the leaders of the national mushroom production, points out a very great potential growth for the inner mushroom market. There is even a place for several large companies on this market, he thinks. Mr. Kuznetsov evaluates the consumption of champignon and oyster mushroom to be 300-400 grams per capita a year in Ukraine; at the same time, the consumption of cultivated mushrooms fluctuates 2 to 4 kg per capita annually in the EU countries.

To the opinion of Andriy Yarmak, the Manager of ""Agrooglyad: Vegetables and Fruits" project", Ukrainian consumers anticipate cultivated mushrooms at least neutrally or totally negative. But, mushrooms have many useful properties. Champignon is widely used as antidiabetic remedy; it contains glycans able to restrain the growth of cancer and to reveal antibacterial properties. Oyster mushroom contains up to 38% of protein, this mushroom has all eighteen amino acids necessary for well-balanced food for a human being. Also, oyster mushroom contains the whole spectrum of group B vitamins, and also vitamins D2 and E (tocopherol). The consumption of oyster mushroom declines the high blood pressure and tones up the nervous system; it has a positive impact on the immunity. The still exotic for us Japanese shiitake mushroom has strong cancer combating properties; it is used to cure hypertension, chronic fatigue syndrome and insomnia.

So, mushrooms are to actually replace meat; at the same time they have many useful properties, which are more typical for vegetables and fruits. The retail prices for cultivated mushrooms fluctuate $2-3/kg; meat costs $5-7/kg.

To the experts' opinion, cultivated mushrooms have a very strong competitor in Ukraine - it is wild mushroom. Hundreds of people die annually consuming the inedible wild mushrooms; despite of this fact, the consumption of this product is still very high in our country. In reality, wild mushroom can be much more harmful than cultivated mushroom, because its quality is severely affected by the ecology of the environment where the mushroom was picked up.

To the specialists' opinion, Ukraine should use the experience of such countries like Australia: the information campaign was carried out there to demonstrate the useful properties of cultivated mushrooms. It has led to the doubled mushroom consumption among the population during only 4-5 years. However, to the opinion of Maxim Kuznetsov, Ukrainian market of cultivated mushroom will grow for another 10 years minimum without any information campaigns. When the inner market is saturated, Ukraine will be able to start the large-scale export of fresh mushroom to the Russian market.