The head of the Lithuanian Forest Mushroom and Berry Entrepreneurs Association, Gintaras Jonas Aleknavičius, stated that the purchase price during the season is not constant – it can change significantly even within one day. Currently, it is about 3 Eur per kilogram.
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According to him, the price depends on buyers’ demand, as the majority of chanterelles that mushroom pickers can currently find in the forests are exported abroad.
“And the growth of various mushrooms is still ahead of us. The weather is still good now, it will rain well for a week, and we expect that porcini and all other various mushrooms will appear,” he said.
However, G.J. Aleknavičius claimed that the decreasing number of mushroom pickers should not be linked to the purchase price.
“People’s habits and needs are simply changing. Moreover, forests are shrinking significantly. Forests are being ruthlessly cut down, and where there used to be mushroom picking spots, people come and find only stumps. So the enthusiasm of mushroom pickers is also falling,” he noted.
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However, the head of the company “M&KO,” Marius Juškevičius 15min, said he hears a different opinion – that some people do not go to the forest precisely because of the low purchase price of mushrooms.
“Today it (purchase price – ed.) is, you know, two euros. Currently, only chanterelles are going,” he said.
Mushroom picker Oksana from Varėna also agreed that the number of mushroom pickers has significantly decreased, and one of the reasons is the uncompetitive purchase price.
“Young people these days do not go to the forest at all because the value of the work put in and the earnings received do not match: if the price per kilogram is 3 Eur, then for a full basket you get 30 Eur,” Oksana calculated.
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