The fall season is just around the corner and businesses are once again devoting more attention to mushrooms. Kai Horwath is responsible, among other things, for the purchase and sale of herbs and mushrooms at Kärcher Ltd at the Stuttgart wholesale market. He spoke with us about the popularity of German mushrooms and higher sales in the lockdown.
Better quality and 
higher prices of organic mushrooms
Mushrooms from Germany continue to enjoy great popularity, and this applies to goods from both organic and conventional cultivation. In the case of conventional goods, prices for white mushrooms can reach 2.00 to 3.00 euros per kilo and for brown mushrooms prices 2.50 to 3.50 euros. For organic produce, prices are again slightly higher, Horwath said. "Organic mushrooms do well throughout the year. The better quality is reflected in the price, which is around 12 euros for 2 kg."
Chanterelles, King Tr
umpet mushrooms and shiitake
"Chanterelles sell well and show good qualities, in organic chanterelles also have excellent qualities and are slightly more expensive. Organic King Trumpet mushrooms are of top quality, as this is a purely German cultivated mushroom. Availability is satisfactory here, although prices are slightly higher for this product also. There is demand for organic shiitake, although the quality is not said to be particularly good."
Normalized demand, supply and packaging
Kärcher also saw higher s
ales during the 2020 lockdowns. Since the spring of 2021, the situation has returned to normal, Horwath said. However, demand for organic products is growing steadily, he said, "The quality of organic goods is improving year by year. From an annual average, we can say that it is even better received than conventional goods." There are problems, however, in terms of supply. "Regardless of what we actually offer, we always have about 30% more produce than is needed."
For more information:
Kai Horwath
Kärcher GmbH & Co KG
Langwiesenweg 30 (Großmarkt)
70327 Stuttgart
Tel: 0711/1 68 87 - 0
Fax: 0711/1 68 65 - 42
Email: [email protected]