Domestic Japanese matsutake mushrooms have become more affordable due to a good harvest, with wholesale prices halving in some areas. Transaction volumes for the Japan-grown matsutake, usually a high-priced autumn delicacy, rose 40 percent from a year earlier and they have been selling well due to lower prices.

On the other hand, prices of imported matsutake, which are cheaper and mostly come from China, have been rising, with their transaction volume declining.

For a good matsutake harvest, a moderate amount of rainfall is necessary through September, when temperatures go down. In Nagano Prefecture, a major mushroom producer, rainfall and ground temperatures were both favorable for matsutake this year.

The total amount of domestic matsutake mushrooms traded at the Tsukiji wholesale market in Tokyo in August and September reached 4 tons, an increase of about 1.2 tons from a year earlier. The average wholesale price per kilogram fell around 30 percent. The price of matsutake from Nagano fell by about half from the year before to around ¥25,000 (€195).

Matsutake from another major producing area, Iwate Prefecture, saw about a 20 percent fall in the average wholesale price to some ¥47,000 (€367).

“Some domestically produced matsutake fetched ¥100,000 (€780) per 400 grams in the previous year because of scarce quantities. But the highest price this year was about ¥70,000 (€546),” said an intermediate wholesaler at the Ota Market in Tokyo.

According to japantimes.co.jp, Chinese matsutake prices rose about 10 percent to some ¥7,900 (€62) per kilogram at one point, with trading volume falling 20 percent from a year earlier.