Spain: Mushroom producers regret the lack of sensitivity of the government of Castilla-La Mancha towards the sector

The Castellano-Manchega Professional Association of Mushrooms and Other Edible Mushrooms has been warning for months of the consequences of the increase in the price of straw for mushroom production. For this reason, they have repeatedly requested the Government of Castilla-La Mancha for some type of aid and measures. Specifically, in September 2023, representatives of this Association conveyed to the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Rural Development, Julián Martínez Lizán, the "urgent need" for aid due to the increase in the price of the main raw material to produce mushrooms: compost. In this meeting they told him that due to the drought, supplies in Spain were "very difficult", having to resort to acquiring and transporting straw from France, with a transport cost of around 30 percent more in Castilla-La Mancha than in La Rioja, the other major producing region of Spain. In February of this year, members of the Association went to Toledo to request "urgent and necessary" ...