According to the source of the UMDIS agency in Tashkent, today the price on the wholesale market of Uzbekistan is 4 Euro per kilogram of mushrooms. This price is quite good – however, mushroom growers are concerned that it may drop very sharply in the near future if the supply of the mushroom increases.”If someone brings an extra ton of mushrooms to the market, the price will drop and there will be no customers,” says one of the local mushroom growers.
Now the amount of mushroom on the market corresponds to the demand.
The market in Uzbekistan is not stable in terms of supply – and accordingly, prices are unstable. This is caused by two factors. The first is the presence of a significant number of small farms – many grow mushrooms in basements of buildings – they supply mushrooms to the market chaotically. With small production in the country, such an increase in the amount of mushrooms on the part of small farms has a significant impact on prices and the situation on the market as a whole. “Small mushroom producers go to open markets and offer mushrooms cheaper – wholesalers choose to buy from them if they receive such offers. It’s harder for us to sell then because we want to have stable prices and have a stable supply,” shares a mushroom grower from the capital of Uzbekistan.
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The second factor is that actually Uzbekistan has one main sales market – Tashkent. This is not such a big city and the demand for the mushroom is not very high. And when the supply in Tashkent exceeds the demand, it is practically impossible to export the mushroom and sell it elsewhere. Because there are no other significant mushroom markets in the country.
UMDIS agency reminds that in Uzbekistan, the population consumes little mushrooms at home. According to the estimates of one of the Uzbek mushroom growers, only about 10% of sales are made to households. The main part of the demand is provided by mass catering establishments, of which it is important to single out pizzerias, as well as salad producers.
