Caidian Shiitake Mushrooms

Caidian Shiitake Mushrooms

　　Caidian Town in Suixian County, Hubei Province, is located in the northern part of the county, at the southern foot of the Tongbai Mountains and in the upper reaches of the Huai River basin. Covering an area of 302 square kilometers, it has 30,570 mu of arable land. Caidian is a major town for distinctive economic development and a strong agricultural hub. In addition to staple crops such as rice, rapeseed, and peanuts, it is most renowned for its edible mushroom industry. As early as the beginning of the 1960s, the town began cultivating shiitake mushrooms and became nationally famous for its production of flower mushrooms.

　　　　Caidian Town is an important production base for shiitake mushroom spawn in central and southern China. Its spawn is not only supplied to local mushroom growers but also exported to regions such as Shaanxi, Henan, and Sichuan. There are currently over 200 businesses involved in shiitake trade in the town, employing more than 3,000 people. Meanwhile, over 6,000 households are engaged in edible mushroom cultivation, accounting for more than 90% of the total number of households in the town. Together, they cultivate more than 30 million bags of bagged shiitake mushrooms, averaging over 4,000 bags per household. The annual yield of dried mushrooms is approximately 10.5 million kilograms, with an annual output value of 300 million yuan. The average income per household is over 30,000 yuan, making up more than 70% of the total household income in the town. The shiitake industry has formed an integrated network encompassing production, processing, and sales. In recent years, the town’s high-quality spawn produced on a large scale and to standardized specifications has earned an excellent reputation in the market. Mushroom growers across various regions have praised it vividly, saying: “Caidian spawn — always reliable.”

　　　　Caidian Town is hailed as the “Hometown of Flower Mushrooms in China.” It has been recognized as a central and southern China edible mushroom spawn supply base, a national ten-thousand-ton standardized shiitake mushroom planting demonstration base, and a national new rural construction science and technology demonstration town.