THE GLOBAL WINDOW OF TURKISH FOOD AND AGRICULTURE The Global Window of Turkish Food and Agriculture Sector
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Grown in forested lands and colloquially known as ‘morel mushroom’ provides 20 million dollars to the national economy.
Morel mushrooms, which are collected in the middle of February in Aegean region and at the end of May in Eastern Anatolia, grow in the forests across the country. Mushrooms are sold by the citizens in the regions where they are grown, either fresh or dried. Dried mushrooms, purchased at 1500-2000 liras, are offered to the local traders and then to abroad by exporters.
Due to the short shelf life, mushrooms sent the next day by air after being processed in the factory, its price may rise up to 30-40 euros as fresh and 200-300 euros as dried.
Çalışkan Agriculture Company General Manager Mehmet Çalışkan told the AA (Anadolu Agency) reporter that this kind of mushroom is grown almost in all forested lands.
Pointing out that about 250 tons are exported due to the seasonal availability, Çalışkan said, “Mushrooms are processed under all kinds of difficulties from the soil to customers.”
Explaining that this type of mushroom used in soups and sauces served with meals is also preferred in the pharmaceutical industry, Çalışkan noted: “Mushrooms are exported after some processes at the factory, not as collected from nature and we classify the products according to many factors. This product is mostly demanded from European countries but we have started to send to the Far East countries as well.”
