Foreign growers cash in on demand for 'matsutake'

Long prized in this country as an autumn delicacy, matsutake mushrooms are increasingly being produced overseas by growers cashing in on Japan's insatiable appetite for the flavorsome fungus.

Matsutake eaten in Japan come from countries as diverse as Canada, Turkey, Morocco and Finland.

In mid-October, domestic and imported matsutake were on sale at Tawaraya, a store specializing in mushrooms and dried food ingredients in the bustling Ameyoko shopping area in Tokyo's Ueno district.

"Matsutake from Canada don't have much tasty flavor but have a robust aroma," said Takahiro Mukai, a clerk at Tawaraya. "They are great with pasta or sukiyaki."

Some Japanese consumers are prepared to pay large sums for matsutake, grown in red pine woods and cherished for its distinct aroma.

At the pricey end was a box of eight top-grade domestic matsutake, which sold for 19,800 yen.

The cheapest on offer were imports from Turkey, a little past their peak with caps slightly open, at 1,000 yen for five stalks.

This year, domestic matsutake arrived early, hitting stores by late August, about three weeks earlier than average.

They were also relatively cheap because the Tohoku region, including Iwate Prefecture, had a good run.

The situation changed completely in late September. Major production centers such as Nagano, Kyoto and Okayama prefectures had poor harvests due to a shortage of rainfall, leading to the rapid disappearance of domestic supplies.

According to agriculture ministry statistics, domestic production of matsutake fell to 51 tons in 2007, from a 1941 peak of 12,000 tons.

Imported mushrooms have filled the breach, now meeting 95 percent of domestic demand.

Until 2005, China accounted for 60 percent of imports and North Korea 30 percent. But imports from China have fallen sharply in recent years, partly the result of high-profile scandals which damaged confidence in food products from the country.

North Korean matsutake disappeared from the Japanese market after economic sanctions were imposed in 2006.

The United States and Canada have recently increased their presence in the market, and countries in Northern Europe and Africa are emerging as potentially strong contenders.

Imports from Morocco, in particular, have grown substantially.

Moroccan matsutake have an advantage here as they come into season later than Japanese mushrooms and start arriving in late October.

A French exporter based in neighboring Algeria switched to matsutake grown in Morocco after the Algerian political situation deteriorated.

Finland experienced a boom in 2007 after Sweden, just across the border, began exporting matsutake to Japan.

Finnish organizations recognized the potential in exporting matsutake to Japan. Seminars were held to give pointers for would-be pickers.

An official at an online retailer handling Finnish matsutake for the first time this year described them as "promising." The official said the shape and aroma were on par with domestic products, at one-tenth the price.

Some newcomers to the market from areas where matsutake is not commonly eaten have a hard time finding and identifying the mushrooms.

Daiyu, a fruit and vegetable wholesaler in Tokyo's Tsukiji market that handles imported matsutake, has received requests to dispatch master pickers overseas.

"It seems difficult to guess where people can go to find matsutake because they do not eat them," said Kenetsu Narita, an executive at Daiyu.(IHT/Asahi: November 17,2009)