"Our industry has shrunk brutally over the last ten years," Roland Vonarburg, head of Wauwiler Champignon AG, told SRF. He is on the board of the Swiss Mushroom Producers Association. These days, they have voiced their concerns about the continued existence of their industry. Rising imports in particular are putting the companies under pressure. "Swiss production is declining slightly year on year. If this continues for five to ten years, it will become a problem. You have to be able to achieve growth to absorb costs and invest. In the shops, the focus is on price. If you want a cheap mushroom in the shop, it will be from Poland or the Netherlands and not necessarily from Switzerland."
Christian Fanger (right) from Kernser Edelpilze is also feeling the downward trend. "We are benefiting from the fact that retailers are focussing on organic edible mushrooms. That's why we're not feeling the pressure from imported mushrooms so much. But in the catering trade all the more. We feel the competition here. In addition, mushrooms are still a side vegetable in soups or sauces. It's not yet the centrepiece on a plate." This is also reflected in the figures: In Switzerland, the annual mushroom consumption per capita is 1.5 kilograms - in Germany it is two, in England four and in Australia five kilograms.
For more information:
www.wauwiler.ch/
www.kernser-edelpilze.ch/