LACK OF WOOD SUPPLY - AFFECT MUSHROOM INDUSTRY

CURRENTLY in Malaysia the scarcity of wood supply has impacted the wood-based industry and the agriculture sector, particularly the mushroom cultivation sector in which relies on sawdust as its primary source of raw material. The mushrooms industry as known for its rapid growth reported is now going at a declining rate. Even though the agriculture sector is exempt from the lockdown, HeveaGro Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of HeveaBoard Bhd, and C&C Mushroom Sdn Bhd report that mushroom farmers are still facing challenges due to the disruption in the supply chain of raw materials.For HeveaGro is Malaysia's first Eryngii mushroom producer and the only business of HeveaBoard within the purview of essential business under the Full Movement Control Order (FMCO). Therefore, the mushroom industry is pleading with the relevant authorities to allow some activities within the timber industry to resume immediately to prevent the local mushroom industry from being wiped out permanently. Accordig to the group managing director Yoong Hau Chun said the local supply of Grey Oyster and other mushrooms has already been disrupted in the market because most cultivators have exhausted their inventory of saw dust as sawmills have been completely shut down since 1 June 2021, unable to produce the much-needed raw material since the beginning of the shutdown. As the mushroom industry will be facing the dilemma of suspension of production, food security will be further impacted. This should be cause for alarm as Malaysia had achieved a zero score in food safety indicators and policies under the Global Food Safety Index (GFSI) 2020.  According to the Department of Agriculture, the demand for mushrooms by 2020 has been projected to grow up to 67,000 metric tonnes. However, more than 1,000 mushroom cultivators of various sizes in Malaysia, most of whom are located in rural areas, are running out of the primary raw material. As a result, mushroom farmers will be unable to meet demand, and their livelihoods will be negatively impacted. He also noted that the mushroom industry is highly competitive, with neighbouring countries such as Thailand and Vietnam also mass-cultivating fungi. If the import of mushrooms were to increase due to the local supply disruption, local cultivators would be facing so much more difficulties, later on, to recover from the current output slump.They are doing our very best to stay alive. However, we do not wish to sugarcoat this challenging situation. The survival of the mushroom industry in Malaysia is very much in jeopardy. We hope that the government will consider our proposal to allow for sawmill operations to resume. The industry at large had strictly complied with standard operating procedures (SOP) when it was allowed to operate during the past year. The Malaysian Timber Council is also working on a large-scale vaccination programme which will kick start this month to protect the workers and curb the spread of the disease. Source: NSTP

Thanks.

By,

M Anem,

Putrajaya,

Malaysia.

(January 2022).