There are more than 30,000 identified types of mushrooms worldwide. 99% of these are safely edible
and roughly 1% is poisonous. Yet there are still many undiscovered mushroom species and the
effects of some mushrooms on human health remain unknown.
A wide assortment of mushrooms is eaten around the world. Champignon and Field Mushrooms are
popular in Europe, Shitake Mushrooms are consumed mostly in China and Japan, while Thai people
prefer Yanagi Mushrooms or Straw Mushrooms. Tastes are evolving and chefs are introducing
varieties of mushrooms to new markets. Demand for organic produce is also growing globally.
Some mushrooms have medicinal qualities and their popularity is rising too. Nowadays, almost every
country devotes more attention to research, experimentation, selection and development of
mushrooms.
Cultivation and production techniques are being further developed to increase mushroom production
to meet consumer demand. Mushrooms are very popular in many countries and often considered to
be as nutritious as meat. Taiwan, Japan, India, Korea and Thailand have the highest global export
rates of mushrooms.