Why does industrial-scale enoki mushroom production hit a summer cold snap?

In recent years, domestic industrial-scale enoki mushroom production has sprung up like bamboo shoots after rain, developing rapidly with significant capacity expansion, which has intensified competition within the industry. Enoki mushroom prices have kept falling, profit margins have been continuously squeezed, and now the industry even faces the danger of prices dropping below cost.
Since May 5, domestic enoki mushroom prices have hit a new low, with ex-factory prices in some regions already falling below cost. For some enoki mushroom producers, this summer is hard to get through, and they can only struggle along, hoping for a turnaround in autumn and winter.
Has industrial-scale enoki mushroom production been hit by a summer cold snap? China Edible Fungi Business Network conducted an in-depth investigation into this. Enoki mushroom prices are affected by seasonal factors, with April to June each year being the off-season for sales and prices relatively low, but this year's price is the lowest year-on-year in a decade, forming a “price trough”. Clearly, the current low price is not caused by seasonal factors alone.

Capacity expands too fast, supply-demand ratio out of balance
In recent years, industrial-scale enoki mushroom production has been developing with great momentum, with new and expanded projects constantly emerging in various places. Capacity expanded too quickly in a short period, leading to an overall imbalance in the supply-demand ratio. According to statistics, the current total daily output of enoki mushrooms nationwide reaches 2000 tons, of which bag-cultivated enoki mushrooms account for 1400 tons per day and bottle-cultivated enoki mushrooms account for 600 tons per day. On the other hand, edible fungi consumption in China still belongs to the mid-to-high-end category, and end buyers account for less than 20% of the total consumer group; in recent years this proportion has even declined further, standing at only around 15%. With supply growing too quickly and lacking effective support from demand, price adjustment is inevitable. In the long run, increasing market demand for edible fungi still depends on popularizing their nutritional value and related knowledge, as well as updating people's consumption concepts.

Fierce competition in coastal areas, obvious regional differences
In coastal areas such as Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai, enoki mushroom production is highly industrialized, output is relatively large, competition is extremely fierce, and the phenomenon of prices being pushed down to cost is fairly common. Several large enterprises have concentrated on seeking listing, and capacity has expanded rapidly, bringing unprecedented pressure on enoki mushroom prices. Facing competition from peers, some enterprises have adopted price-cutting measures, making the already low enoki mushroom prices even worse. Small and medium-sized enterprises have been hit hard, and some are suffering severe losses, finding each day as long as a year.
In inland provinces such as Shanxi, as well as in relatively closed third-tier cities, enoki mushroom supply and demand are balanced, prices rarely fluctuate, and enterprise profits are relatively stable. For some local enterprises in third-tier cities with a daily output below 1.5 tons, the price of enoki mushrooms 20kg/CTN is stable between 110-120 yuan. In some counties and towns under the jurisdiction of Yangzhou, the price of enoki mushrooms 20kg/CTN is stable between 120-130 yuan. **A king oyster mushroom-producing enterprise of the Construction Corps mainly exports its products to Kazakhstan, where prices are relatively stable and the enterprise's economic benefits are good.

Quality varies greatly, brand may determine survival
Under the situation of generally low market prices, some enterprises stand out in the sluggish market by virtue of their excellent products and good brand image. While the market unit price generally hovers above 2 yuan/jin, Zhuhai Lvyang Mushroom Industry sells at 3.75 yuan/jin with first-class product quality. Guangdong Xinghe Biotechnology terminated the expansion of its Tangxia edible fungi industrial production line; comprehensive expansion has become history, and Xinghe Biotechnology is shrinking its battle line and preserving its strength in order to get through the low-price period safely. Xinghe Biotechnology general manager Ye Yunshou admitted frankly, “Our current operating conditions are good, but by the end of the year, some small and medium-sized enterprises may go bankrupt.”
In market competition, selling at reduced prices is unsustainable in the long run and more likely to trigger vicious competition within the industry, further worsening the external environment for enterprises. When market prices are relatively low, enterprises should pay more attention to product quality and establish their brand image, so that they can stand out among homogenized products and win recognition from consumers and the market. Every industry has leaders at the forefront; once an enterprise succeeds in branded operation, it is no longer just an anonymous somebody in the market, and its products can have a certain degree of irreplaceability. What determines product value is not only the physical product, but also the intangible assets and added value contained within it. Only by achieving this can an enterprise adapt freely to market changes and calmly watch the cold and heat.

Bag cultivation, bottle cultivation, farmers: production models compete
Industrial-scale enoki mushroom production mainly has two models, bag cultivation and bottle cultivation, and their benefits vary greatly by region.
In the Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai region, bottle cultivation has more advantages, so the proportion of enterprises using bottle cultivation is relatively large, while the proportion using bag cultivation is relatively small. The price of bag-cultivated enoki mushrooms 20kg/CTN is 90-110 yuan, but no one shows interest and they are hard to sell; the price of bottle-cultivated enoki mushrooms 20kg/CTN is concentrated between 80-90 yuan, competing with small and medium-sized enterprises and mushroom farmers, but there are also individual enterprises where the price of enoki mushrooms 20kg/CTN is only 60 yuan, already below cost.