Annual output of edible fungi exceeds 30 million tons; cultivation gradually becomes an important lever for poverty alleviation in rural areas

As a representative of healthy food, edible fungi have been much loved and sought after by consumers in recent years. The reporter recently learned from the China Edible Fungi Association that in 2014 the national total output of edible fungi was 32.7 million tons, with an output value of 225.81 billion yuan. Gao Maolin, executive vice president of the China Edible Fungi Association, said that the production-area advantages of the edible fungi industry have already taken initial shape, and it is a typical example of the integration of the primary, secondary and tertiary industries in rural development and an important lever for targeted poverty alleviation.

According to association data, in 2014 the national export volume of edible fungi was 582,000 tons, earning 2.906 billion US dollars in foreign exchange. As of 2015, there were 626 industrialized edible fungi production enterprises nationwide, with an output of 1.83 million tons. At present, the number of edible fungi species in China has reached 936, with nearly 60 species that can be artificially cultivated and 36 species that have already been cultivated commercially on a scale. Including the shiitake mushroom, black wood ear, oyster mushroom and others commonly seen by consumers, a total of 7 types of fungi each have an annual output exceeding 1 million tons.

Gao Maolin said that there are as many as more than 100 counties nationwide with an annual output value of edible fungi of over 100 million yuan, with 20 million people employed in the sector. A large number of well-known major edible fungi production bases have already formed, such as Dongning in Heilongjiang, Xiuyan in Liaoning and Pingquan in Hebei. The edible fungi industry has made positive contributions to prospering the rural economy and helping farmers become wealthy.

Gao Maolin also acknowledged frankly that while developing rapidly, China's edible fungi industry also faces problems such as prominent strain issues, cultivation techniques still needing to be solved and slow brand building. In response, the association will join with the Lianyungang municipal government to hold the China Edible Fungi Industry Conference in March this year, bringing together experts and enterprises from inside and outside the industry to jointly discuss topics such as the sustainable development of the edible fungi industry, industry transformation and the introduction of the “Internet+” model.