New investments set to fuel mushroom exports

Oman’s premier mushroom grower, Gulf Mushroom Products Co SAOG, which already operates one of the largest high-tech farms in the Middle East, is set to double its production capacity in the second quarter of this year with the planned launch of 12 new mushroom growing rooms in Barka.

Also slated for commissioning is a new state-of-the-art compost manufacturing plant in Thamrait in Dhofar Governorate, which will help end the company’s dependence on imported compost.

Both investments are set to further reinforce Gulf Mushroom’s reputation as a formidable player in the region as a grower and supplier of fresh mushrooms — demand for which is strongly on the upswing fuelled in large part by the robust growth of the hospitality and tourism sector.

Production of different varieties of fresh mushrooms totalled 3,844 metric tonnes in 2016, up from 3,747 metric tonnes a year earlier, an increase the company’s Chairman attributed to “improved production efficiency”. The company’s production capacity is anticipated to rise by 100 per cent once the new growing rooms in Barka are commercially operational, he stated in the Chairman’s Report for the 2016 financial year.

Importantly, export markets accounted for a hefty 88 per cent of total sales during the year, generating the company RO 5.531 million in earnings that the Chairman described as Gulf Mushroom’s “proud contribution” to national non-oil revenues. Net profit after tax for the year amounted to RO 317,000, roughly equalling that of 2015.

“With its own compost manufacturing plant and new growing rooms scheduled to be commissioned during the year, (Gulf Mushroom) is ready to shake off its dependence on imported compost and achieve fresh milestones in production and quality,” the company said.

“The demand for natural, healthy, and high value foods, like mushrooms, is consistently on the rise across the globe driven by growing health awareness. With new production capacity, the company is targeting to increase exports to new international markets,” it added.