Termite mushrooms at the beginning of the season, over a million VND per kilogram, are still ‘sold out’

The first rains of the season had just appeared, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tam, who had more than 5 years of hunting termite mushrooms in Tay Ninh, and a group of friends carried flashlights and bags and drove around the rubber forests looking for termite mushrooms.

According to Mr. Tam, at the beginning of the season, his group of about 4 people had to make many trips to collect more than 15 kg of mushrooms. The supply is scarce, so beautiful bud mushrooms that have just been brought out of the forest have traders waiting to buy them for 700,000-750,000 VND per kg.

Not only in Tay Ninh, the scarcity of termite mushrooms also occurs in many areas of old Binh Phuoc and Dong Nai. After the first rain of the season, Mr. Thanh in Phu Giao and a friend went into the forest to hunt mushrooms all night but only collected about 5 kg in the first trip, half of the previous crop.

Ms. Le Thi Thanh Nga, a trader specializing in purchasing termite mushrooms in Binh Phuoc and the former Ba Ria – Vung Tau, said that last year she could collect 50-100 kg of mushrooms at the beginning of the season in each batch, but now the output is only more than a dozen kg per batch.

“Depending on the type of bud or bloomed mushroom, the retail price ranges from 800,000 to 950,000 VND per kilogram,” Ms. Nga informed.

Meanwhile, Ms. Hoang Oanh, a mushroom trader in Tay Ninh, commented that mushrooms in the old Tay Ninh and Ben Tre areas (now part of Vinh Long) often have the highest prices in the market thanks to their sweet taste and characteristic aroma. With beautiful bud mushrooms, the selling price can reach 1-1.1 million VND per kg, an increase of 7-8% compared to last year.

Explaining the high price, mushroom hunters said it was due to scarce supply. The output at the beginning of this year’s season decreased significantly because the rain came late after a long period of heat, causing mushrooms to grow less and unevenly than in previous years. “Some nights, we collected a full bag, but there were also days when we went all night and only picked up a few ounces,” said a mushroom hunter.

Not only has the yield decreased, the cost of mushroom hunting this year has also increased. According to Mr. Thanh, in the past, a set of specialized lights and batteries to look at mushrooms cost about 1-1.2 million VND, now it costs 1.5-1.6 million VND depending on the type, not to mention the cost of gasoline and travel, which are both higher than before.

“Supply has decreased and input costs have increased, so the price of mushrooms at the beginning of the season increased by about 7-8% compared to last year,” he said.

According to traders, termite mushrooms at the beginning of the season are always sought after despite their high prices due to their short appearance time, low supply and the inability to be mass-cultivated like many other types of mushrooms. Among them, the bud mushroom that just sprouted from the ground is the most popular thanks to its crunchiness, natural sweetness and characteristic aroma.

Mr. Tam said that at the beginning of the season, many customers had to order a week in advance to buy, so he prioritized selling most of the mushrooms he harvested to regular customers instead of delivering them to traders. According to him, in the second half of May, when the mushroom crop is in full swing, prices will be adjusted and supplies will be more abundant.

Termite fungus is a natural fungus that grows from underground termite nests, usually appearing about a week after the first rains of the season. This type is widely distributed in the Western provinces, Central Highlands and Southeast, especially in areas with many rubber forests and planted forests. Because it cannot be grown commercially like many other types of mushrooms, mushroom production is completely dependent on nature.

According to local people, mushrooms usually start to pop out of the ground from around 5-6pm and grow clearly in the evening. Therefore, many people choose to hunt mushrooms from night to dawn to easily detect them under a flashlight, and at the same time pick mushroom buds while their ears are still closed, keeping their crispness and sweetness, so they can be sold for the highest price.

“Mushroom hunters” say that the heaviest mushroom season usually falls on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month. Each wave of fungus only lasts about 4 days and then stops, then you have to wait another one to two weeks for a new wave to appear. There are also artificially grown black termite mushrooms on the market, but many consumers consider this type to be less fragrant and sweet than natural mushrooms.