The first Estonian chanterelles of the season arrived in Germany in the last week of July. “We are marketing them together with the increasingly scarce Lithuanian production, and will later also supply Swedish chanterelles. Northern European products are 20-30% more expensive than chanterelles from the Balkans, but they are yellower and of better quality. Thanks to the cooler climate in Estonia, there are hardly any problems with sunburn, which means that cleaning the mushrooms is less time-consuming and there is less waste. In general, we have noticed that Estonian chanterelles are increasingly establishing themselves as gourmet products and are particularly popular with gourmets and high-end gastronomy,” says Ramazan Gülnar, mushroom wholesaler and managing director of Paris Direkt GmbH in Münster, which has been supplying Estonian chanterelles for the third year in a row.
The mushroom wholesaler currently supplies its German and foreign customers with fresh chanterelles from all over the world all year round. The Moroccan season is followed by the Portuguese campaign, and from April onwards, business slowly picks up with products from Macedonia and Serbia. The arrival of wild mushrooms from Bulgaria and Romania marks the start of the classic seasonal peak. “However, we have noticed that the peak season tends to start earlier and that chanterelles are increasingly used as a spring product, together with asparagus.” Gülnar confirms that he has been seeing this trend for a few years now.
Premium chanterelles from Estonia. The slower growth process gives these mushrooms a relatively more intense flavor and firmer texture.
Lower profit margins put wild mushroom industry at risk
According to Gülnar, the start of this year’s season was rather bumpy. “In terms of quality, it was very different to last year. In addition, the rain in Romania and Bulgaria was persistent and had a negative impact on the chanterelles. In Bulgaria in particular, the weather contributed to a general shortage of supply. Fortunately, Lithuania started a bit earlier than in other years.” It is difficult to estimate how long the chanterelle campaign will last in Northern Europe. “Last year, we supplied Estonian products until December. Chanterelles were also still available in Spain and Portugal in November, but demand from these countries of origin was low. In this respect, the wild mushroom sector always manages to surprise. Due to the increased costs of labor and logistics, the profit margins along the supply chain have decreased overall,” the mushroom expert continues.
In addition to chanterelles, porcini mushrooms are also traditionally very popular since the end of summer. “In many places in Romania, they are already being harvested, but for quality reasons, they are mainly intended for the industry and less for the fresh market. Last year, we supplied Romanian porcini mushrooms starting from August 10. In Bulgaria, however, this variety tends to lose market share for two reasons: first, nature simply does not provide them anymore. In other words, there are fewer porcini mushrooms every year. Second, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find enough people willing to harvest them in the wild.”
Chanterelles in the tried and tested wooden trays.
Having a strategy contributes to good sales performance
In recent years, Paris Direkt GmbH has gradually developed into a full-service mushroom supplier. To continue to grow in this highly competitive market segment, a strategy had to be defined. “We now offer our customers only Dutch mushrooms instead of Polish ones. The latter are slightly more expensive to source, but the quality justifies the higher price. At the moment, the price-performance ratio is favorable for mushrooms, which is reflected in the correspondingly high demand. “
“The catering sector slowed down somewhat due to the weather, while we were able to supply more canteen kitchens and collective catering. In all product segments, we were able to increase sales by almost a third in the first and second quarters compared to the same period of the previous year. In addition, the expansion of our delivery area has benefited us: During the holiday season, we generally move less volume in North Rhine-Westphalia because many people go on holiday. However, we also deliver to the Baltic Sea and to southern and eastern Germany, so we also benefit from tourism and everything is balanced again.”
For more information
Ramazan Gulnar
Paris Direct GmbH
Lise-Meitner Street 7b
48161 Münster – Germania
Tel: +49 02534 977540
Fax: +49 02534 977541
[email protected]
www.paris-direkt.net