Matsutake is an extremely valuable mushroom in Japan. The country's own matsutake crops have collapsed, and now 95 per cent of the matsutake sold in Japan are imported. Each year more than 3 million kilos of matsutake are exported to Japan, mainly from China and South Korea. Finland has also gained the first experiences in exporting matsutake.

Finland started to export matsutake, the aromatic pine mushroom (Tricholoma matsutake), this autumn. Altogether 1 000 kilos of the mushroom were exported. In Sweden an export company specialised in matsutake was set up already in 2003. The revenue from these exports may be very high indeed. In Sweden it has been calculated that in the barren pine heath forests of northern Sweden the return on the mushroom may be two to three times the return on the tree stand, with a rotation period of 100 years.

The price per kilo for Swedish Grade A matsutake paid in Japan, deducted by the transportation costs, rises up to 85 dollars. Matsutake has become highly popular in the Swedish kitchen as well, where especially dried mushrooms are used. The price for dried matsutake is about 300 dollars per kilo.

The Japanese appreciate, in particular, the aromatic scent of matsutake, which is at its best after 10 days from picking. To get the mushrooms to the Japanese market as fresh as possible, export from Finland calls for rapid action, efficient organisation and airfreight. Because the season for matsutake is very short, the buyer must receive the information on its start without any delay. Rapid communication between the agent responsible for the buying and those who pick the mushrooms is essential. Today text messages offer a good way of getting this information through.

The Finnish Forest Research Institute (Metla) organised a seminar on matsutake in Kihniö on 23-25 September, where studies on matsutake were presented and both Finnish and Swedish partners told about their experiences in exporting matsutake to Japan.