Status and trends in world mushroom production-I

Mushrooms have been collected and consumed in different parts of the world, but their cultivation at large scale started only after World War II. Few mushrooms like Agaricus bisporus, Lentinula edodes, Auricularia spp, Pleurotus spp, Flammulina velutipes, Volvariella volvacea contribute about 90% of the world mushroom production. According to FAOSTAT mushroom production has increased from 0.5 million tonne (MT) in 1961 to 10.38 MT by 2014 at Cumulative Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 5.9%. According to various others the mushroom production has increased from 0.17 MT in 1960 to 34.8 MT in 2013 at CAGR of 10.56%. The FAOSTAT does not cover all the mushrooms cultivated in Asia and it has been exemplified by comparing data of FAO and Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), Japan. FAOSTAT data for Japan represents only fresh shiitake production reported by MAFF, which at present is only about 14% of total mushroom production of Japan. Similarly, FAOSTAT data is much less than total mushroom production reported by various agencies or workers in China, South Korea, Taiwan, India, etc. It appears that FAOSTAT does not cover all the mushroom species cultivated in various Asian countries. The analysis of relative contribution of different mushrooms since 1975 shows that despite rapid overall increase in mushroom production, the relative contribution of button mushroom has declined from 73% in 1975 to 15% in 2013 mainly due to rapid increase in production of wood rot fungi like Lentinula edodes, Auricularia, Pleurotus species, etc which are mostly cultivated in Asian countries. These species have started making inroads in western countries where even today Agaricus bisporus is prime contributor.