Csaba Hajdu is an Amycel representative in the Balkan countries, responsible for the sales in Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
UMDIS Mushroom Information Agency spoke with him about mushroom industry in those countries.
The interview is provided by Maksym Yenchenko, Amycel representative and UMDIS director.Csaba Hajdu believes these countries have significant potential for mushroom cultivation, given their distance from the major mushroom exporter countries of Poland, Hungary, and the Netherlands. The biggest players in the Hungarian maket are Biofungi Limited, Korona Mushroom Union, and Boglar Champ Limited. Biofungi and Korona Mushroom Union produce Phase 3 compost for agaricus. Biofungi also produces oyster substrate. Boglar Champ only uses compost for their own mushroom farm in Romania. Pilze Nagy Limited is a significant company in Hungary, producing oyster substrate. The Hungarian government provides subsidies for mushroom investment every two to three years, with 45% to 60% of the total budget available for each player. Csaba estimates that growers in Hungary can get close to two euros per kilo for agaricus, with retail prices around four and a half euros per kilo. The number of mushroom growers in Hungary has decreased over time.