Status and potential of mushroom industry in Malaysia
(Status dan potensi industri cendawan di Malaysia)
Mohd Zaffrie Mat Amin*, Azahar Harun* and Mohd Amirul Mukmin Abdul Wahab*
Keywords: mushroom, import, export, trade, Malaysian industry
Abstract
Global mushroom trade has shown a significant upward trend over the last three decades. This is especially so for fresh and dried mushrooms, and Malaysia is not excluded from this industry. The demand for mushroom in Malaysia requires about 50 t/day, of which the current production is only 24 t/day. The import value had increased from RM9.71 million in 2005 to RM18.18 million in 2012. Mushroom production in Malaysia can be increased to fulfil the demand in the domestic market. Yet, there are factors which have led to a shortage in the supply. Among these are the high input prices in the market that reduce the profit and the viability level of mushroom production. However, mushroom production might pave the way for national revenue if given serious consideration and therefore, will reduce the food import value. The climate in the regions of Malaysia is conducive for growing a wide variety of specialty mushrooms at a low cost, and cultivation of these species is likely to increase both the quantity and quality of national production of mushroom in the coming years.
Abstrak
Perdagangan cendawan global menunjukkan peningkatan trend sejak tiga dekad yang lalu. Terutamanya untuk cendawan segar dan cendawan kering, dan Malaysia tidak berkecuali. Permintaan terhadap cendawan di Malaysia memerlukan 50 t/hari manakala pengeluarannya hanyalah 24 t/hari. Nilai import meningkat daripada RM9.71 juta pada 2005 kepada RM18.18 juta pada 2012. Pengeluaran cendawan di Malaysia boleh ditingkatkan untuk memenuhi permintaan pasaran tempatan. Bagaimanapun ada beberapa faktor yang boleh menyebabkan kekurangan dalam penawaran. Antaranya ialah harga input yang tinggi di pasaran yang mengurangkan keuntungan dan aras daya maju pengeluaran cendawan. Pengeluaran cendawan mungkin dapat menyumbang kepada pendapatan negara jika diberi perhatian yang khusus dan seterusnya dapat mengurangkan nilai import makanan. Iklim di rantau Malaysia sesuai untuk menanam pelbagai varieti cendawan pada kos yang rendah dan penanaman pelbagai varieti ini mungkin dapat meningkatkan kuantiti dan kualiti pengeluaran cendawan negara pada masa akan datang.