Pine mushroom buyers are taking thousands of local dollars out of region. I went to Frenchies and told him I couldn't afford to pick $2.50 lb and he said somebody else would probably pick them.
I understand they are getting UIC on the off season which I'm paying for. You'd think that they (the local buyers Wendy's , Jackies, Frenchies etc) would treat their pickers better because if it wasn't for them they would be twittling there thumbs at home.
I brought my nephew out the other day to teach how to pick proper,and also told him that the prices from the local buyers are a huge ripeoff for the work, which pickers have to do.
This is a story of local and province wide robbery.
The Terrace Daily Went To InvestigateReporting - Merv RitchieIt is now $2.00/lb and the local buyers are not the issue, it is the internationalists who set the price. Frenchie spoke about how little he and the other local buyers get on their purchases from the pickers. He claims it is hardly worth it for him to set up and sit all day too. On the best 'shrooms he accepts and grades he receives .25/lb.
For this he has to accept and listen to all the complaining about the low prices. Frenchie acknowledges it is a rip off and basically highway robbery. He believes the low prices for Pine Mushrooms is due to a bumper crop in Washington.
Pines are a unique mushroom as no one has found a way to grow good Pines artificially. Almost every other 'shroom, King Oysters etc, are now grown commercially therefore the prices are lower for pickers due to a guarenteed supply from commercial growers. Morels are much like Pines, they are generally only found in regions which have endured a fire the previous year or two, not commerially produced.
So the short story on this is the market forces of the world, not the local buyers. Three years ago, local outrageous kinda guy, Tory Charlton, performed the Pine Mushroom stomp. Read about it and see the video
HERE. It was an expression of frustration which garnered international attention. The Big corporate buyers still contact the Terrace Daily due to this story.
Some think the way to increase the pricing is to jointly get together, like a Union, and refuse to pick. This is unlikely to happen and is even more unlikely to have any effect if it did. Like most economic issues across the globe, getting proper pay for picking Pine mushrooms in the Sacred Circle is completely out of local control.
Background from http://www.oregonmushrooms.comPine mushrooms are a gilled mushroom found in the Pacific Northwest of North America growing in the coniferous woodlands. These ectomycorrhizal fungi are usually an edible species which exist in a symbiotic relationship with various species of pine. They belong to the genus Tricholoma.
The best-known species of pine mushrooms are closely related East Asian Tricholoma matsutake, also known as "matsutake" or songi, while the North American species Tricholoma magnivelare, is also known as "ponderosa mushroom" or "American matsutake."
One very rare species that has been difficult to grow indoors without extremely precise controls is the Princess Matsutake.
In recent years, globalization has made hunting for pine mushrooms popular among all types people in British Columbia, where they are found under pine trees and often associated with deer trails. Local mushroom hunters sell their harvest daily to local depots who then rush them to airports. The pine mushrooms are then shipped fresh by air to Asia where demand is high and they are priced at a premium.
Pine mushrooms grow in many provinces. In northern Alberta, Sask., Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec, seasons can be cut short by killing frosts. The largest harvests in North America are in British Columbia where the season can start early in the north, in August. Pine mushrooms fruiting follows the cool weather as it moves down the coast like a wave. On Mt. Elphinstone, a popular harvest area, and Vancouver Island, picking can begin in Sept and continue right into December if conditions are right.
Prices paid by commercial buyers fluctuate daily and are effected by world politics, harvests from foreign countries, Japanese demand, currency rates, buyer discretion and many other factors. Prices can vary from $5 to $30 per pound or more, depending on the grade. Pine mushroom harvesting can be very lucrative but the days of $100 a lb or more are likely gone forever.
Read more:
http://www.articlesbase.com/food-and-beverage-articles/pine-mushrooms-of-the-pacific-northwest-3121766.html#ixzz125QXblEX The price per pound doesn't pay except as a hobby. The scale reads; 3.51lbs @ $2.00/lb for a total of $7.02. These are top rated Pines. For making a living it is tough slogging.
