Production of mushrooms in Ukraine – a vast industry. Annually about 60,000 tons of mushrooms are produced in Ukraine, its value by the producer’s prices in 2013 was amounted about 1 billion UAH (63 million Euro), and the total turnover of the industry companies is in many times higher than this figure. About 8,000 people are engaged in the production of compost, mushrooms, processing, trade. The most popular cultivated mushroom in Ukraine – champignon. Its share in the production and sales – more than 90%.
The main challenge, that faces the mushroom growing in Ukraine, is a need to expand the markets for products, price support and ensure the profitability of production. Today we consider a number of possibilities, each of which can help to achieve these goals. Here are the main ones:
– Stimulate the domestic consumption of cultivated mushrooms, according to many experts, can give a significant result, considering that the program to popularize mushrooms in the country previously not been performed;
– Research of Ukrainian mushroom buyers outside the country, the establishment of appropriate business relations. Recent changes in currency rate and constantly lowering price at the domestic market make this direction as one of the most promising;
– Cooperation of small producers. Creation of joint logistics centers, centralized purchasing, and at the end –work of the industry association are still at the beginning stage;
– Increasing the share of processing in the structure of mushroom products, which would greatly stabilize the market and open new opportunities that are associated with exports;
– Reduction of technological risks and increase the average productivity particularly by improved hygiene, use of monitoring systems, use of 3-phase compost, technical assistance;
– Reduction of production costs, in particular due to energy efficiency programs, increase productivity, efficient management, and optimization of logistics and other actions.
Source: umdis.org
