Supermarkets would welcome quality mushrooms
Stabroek News
April 9, 2004
Supermarkets are applauding a move by the National Agriculture Research Institute (NARI) to grow mushrooms for commercial sale, but say quality would be the key to success.
Shitake, button and oyster mushrooms are the varieties expected to be planted locally because of their capacity to be grown under more humid conditions.
"It will sell...the customers will buy it," says an official at Nigel's Supermarket, but adds that the product must be fresh, of good quality and readily available. Fresh mushrooms, unlike canned ones usually cannot last for more than two weeks.
Nigel's sells only canned mushrooms for $413 a tin.
Merlyn Norton, co-ordinator of Fogarty's Supermarket, though pleased with this development explained that they will have to see the product first, before making a commitment, since past experiences with local cauliflower were not the best. Mohammed Faroze, a scientist at NARI explained that once the local mushrooms are dried or kept on ice they will keep for at least a week.
Fogarty's imports 24 lbs of mushrooms every week but these finish within days retailing for around $700 per lb.
A working mom who eats button mushrooms, fried with butter and sprinkled with black pepper, was very happy that sometime soon the product will be available on the local market.
Dr. Oudho Homenauth, director of NARI says the agency would also like to see the local mushrooms capture export markets in Trinidad and Tobago or Barbados, where tonnes of mushrooms are imported annually.
Officials at NARI explained that they heard of mushrooms being planted for commercial sale before but knew nothing of the past project.
The National Agriculture Research Institute will be installing a facility in the coming months to house its mushroom operation. Mushrooms are produced using a special type of fungus which is mixed with sawdust, pegasse or rice straw.
The fungus and the other secondary materials are usually placed in a sealed bag with holes, to allow molasses to be poured in.
While NARI will be growing mushrooms, arrangements are also being made to give farmers the opportunity as well. Farmers will be able to get the mature fungus (it takes two weeks to mature) to grow at home. One bag of mature fungus takes three weeks to develop into mushrooms. NARI officials say since farmers may find it difficult to build a mushroom facility, it is more convenient for farmers to get the mature fungus from NARI.
Homenauth says ten persons have already indicated that they will like to farm mushrooms. The terms under which the farmers will be given the matured fungus are still to be arranged.
The design and the equipment for the mushroom facility is currently being reworked by a Chinese team which recently completed a visit to Guyana.
Officials at NARI expect a design sometime this month, to begin construction in June. Some $2M was budgeted to build the facility.