Polands mushroom production has been growing steadily for many years. As estimated by the Institute of Economics, Agriculture and Food Economy, the total value has increased by 41% between 2010 and 2017. At the same time, exports, including those of processed products, have increased in value by as much as 50%. The development of the industry was not hindered even by the Russian embargo or the competition from such agro-leaders as the Netherlands. BZ WBK experts predict that exports will continue to grow, but the sector will also have challenges to face.

The growth of mushrooms over the last 7 years has not been affected even by the fact that the industry has recently lost some momentum. Compared to 2016, in 2017 the domestic production of mushrooms grew by 1.5%, to 325 thousand tonnes. The acreage stood at 244 hectares and was 0.4% greater. Grzegorz Rykaczewski, analyst of the agro-food sector at Bank Zachodni WBK, draws attention to the fact that the production has grown at a faster rate than the acreage, and that this is the result of technological progress in cultivation, which translates into better use of the available space, which in 2010-2017 increased by 6%.

According to data from the Ministry of Finance (for IERiGŻ), the volume of mushrooms and processed products sold abroad in 2017 amounted to 315 thousand tonnes. In comparison to 2016, the volume decreased slightly - by 1%; however, due to the increase in transaction prices, the value of exports increased by 2%, to 449 million Euro. "It is worth noting that about 70% of the domestic production of fresh mushrooms is exported. This high foreign demand has clearly been stimulating the sectors development," adds the Bank Zachodni WBK expert.

An important test for the industry was the crisis caused by the closing of the Russian market to EU products, including Polish agro-food products. Mushroom producers, however, have turned this adversity into success. "Before the introduction of the embargo by Russia in 2014, a significant part of the export of mushrooms reached the Russian market. After its closure, Polish exporters increased sales to the European unio, becoming a leader. Currently, approximately 90% of the export volume goes to the EU market. It is really a huge success, because other Polish specialties, such as apples, have been much more affected by the closure of the Russian border, and this is also visible in their export results," says Grzegorz Rykaczewski, of Bank Zachodni WBK.

On the European unio market, however, Polish mushrooms are still facing many challenges. The main competition comes from the markets previous leaders, primarily the Netherlands; however, Polish companies have been able to take advantage of the basic advantages of their production. "Polish producers offer a fresh, unprocessed product that is harvested manually. In Western European countries, machine harvesting dominates. Furthermore, we still have lower labour costs in Poland, thanks to which domestic producers can offer competitive prices. This is a significant advantage for Polish mushrooms, but in any case, remaining competitive is still one of the biggest challenges," says the expert from Bank Zachodni WBK.

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