Italy will host next European mushroom growers’ meeting

Rome: Mushroom producers from all over Europe will meet in Treviso (Italy) from 23 to 25 May to discuss the most important issues facing the sector and to analyze the situation of the European markets in the light of the EU regulations.

There will be 30 delegates from the European Mushroom Producers Group, a body that is part of Copa Cogeca, to discuss the main issues of the sector at the invitation of the Italian Mushroom Growers Association.

The panel will discuss various topics, including the problem of using peat, which is used in mushrooms as a topsoil to promote the growth of mushrooms, as well as issues related to residues from the use of straw, import regulation, which is constantly monitored by the group and which is also causing some problems in Italy due to substrate imports from China.

Italy has been a member of the European Mushroom Producers Group (GEPC) since the 1970s, when the then president Andrea Rigoni began to establish relations with other European organizations, until the European Association found a stable organization, based in Paris, that determined the final recognition of the association.

Today, the GEPC represents more than one million tons of mushrooms produced and is the only sector-specific organization in the field. The president is Paul Wilson, Irish owner of Monaghan Mushrooms, while the vice-president is Italian Romeo Fuser, president of the Treviso Mushroom Consortium.

The board of the GEPC includes all the presidents of the associations and the technicians who attend the meetings from time to time to discuss production issues. Italy is represented not only by Romeo Fuser, but also by Andrea Prando, the Italian president.

Finally, the GEPC has developed a Europe-wide promotional communication project to increase the consumption of mushrooms grown in Europe. Funded by the European Union with 5 million euros, the campaign is visible on all social media with #europeanmushroms and is currently trending.