"It's currently stable, with no craziness, shortages, or overproduction," says Noud Spetgens of Nesco - a Dutch company that grows and markets organic mushrooms in Europe - about that market situation. "I do foresee growth. Some Dutch supermarkets don't yet carry organic mushrooms, so there's still room there."
Noud also believes some consumers are open to organic mushrooms. "If price increases realized in conventional mushrooms - which are sorely needed to cover growing costs - can be maintained and organic mushrooms are just slightly more expensive, shoppers have a choice."
While Nesco sees potential in the Dutch retailer sector, the mushroom grower already supplies volumes of organic product to Switzerland and Germany and, to a lesser extent, France and Scandinavia. "In Switzerland, for example, the organic share is four to five times higher than in the Netherlands and three times higher in Germany. Those markets still offer growth, but there's also increasing competition from local cultivation," explains Noud.
Automation and robotization
The cultivation company's new building in Sint-Oedenrode – Nesco has five cultivation sites, where 100+ permanent employees produce 100 tons of organic mushrooms weekly - is fully focused on operational automation. "The mushrooms are, for example, automatically cut and, after manual picking, optically sorted. In that way, we try to keep costs under control." Robotization is also in the picture for the same reason. "We're working on that and are getting increasingly close to a solution," says Spetgens.
Retail's role
He admits managing rising costs is no simple task and thinks supermarkets have a role. "We need them to play their part; they ultimately determine consumer prices. It seems supermarkets are willing to move along with growers a little more easily. Retailers are increasingly concerned about always having enough fresh produce available." That is leading to a trend toward longer-term partnerships between supermarkets and growers, says Noud, concluding that "it's not feasible to invest for a three-month contract, but for a five-year partnership, it is."
Own mix
You grow mushrooms on compost; for the conventional product, on a mixture of straw and horse and chicken manure; for organic, on organic straw and chicken manure. Noud says you can control cultivation with an exact composition. "We have our own recipe and sit down with the producer to jointly manage the compost's make-up. The goal is to grow better mushrooms that taste good and have a high dry matter content. That gives volume weight without containing too much water, which benefits the flavor."
Noud Spetgens
Nesco B.V.
+31 (0)85 7731088
+31 (0)6 29404559
[email protected]
www.nescochampignons.nl