The culture of mushrooms began in France towards 1650. At present, this country occupies the fourth place of the world-wide production. Approximately 2.380.000 t of mushrooms are produced world-wide every year and the leading country is China.

In Spain 85.000t are produced every year, chiefly in La Rioja and Cuenca-Albacete.

Most of the mushrooms already existed in the old times and they are previous to the presence of men. However, the culture of mushrooms began in France towards 1650, when some market gardeners observed the development of edible fungi when covering the mount’s dung with sand. In Spain the production began in 1952.

The world-wide production of mushrooms is around 2.380.000t per year and the distribution by continents is as follows:

Continent	Tons
Africa	11,030
Asia	876,198
Europe	986,982
North America	462,500
Oceania	47,000
Total	2,383,710

Source: FAO Production Yearbook (2000)

The 10 main producing countries of mushrooms are:

Country	Tons
China	709,687
The USA	390,000
The Netherlands	246,000
France	150,000
United Kingdom	104,439
Poland	100,000
Spain	80,000
Canada	72,500
Japan	70,511
Ireland	62,000

Source: FAO Production Yearbook (2000)

The 10 chief importers of mushrooms are the following:

Country	Tons
United Kingdom	59,405
Germany	43,466
Japan	35,218
France	19,740
The Netherlands	17,895
Austria	13,092
The USA	10,917
Italy	9,419
Canada	9,002
Sweden	7,567

Source: FAO Trade Yearbook (1999)

The 10 chief export countries of mushrooms are the following:

Country	Tons
The Netherlands	63,737
China	50,866
Ireland	34,817
Belgium-Luxembourg	10,425
Poland	12,064
Canada	10,425
The USA	7,191
Austria	5,802
France	5,684
Germany	4,420

Source: FAO Trade Yearbook (1999)

In Spain 85.000t of mushrooms are produced annually; those cultivated in La Rioja (43.400t) are intended for preservation, whereas those produced in Castilia-La Mancha and Cuenca-Albacete (41.600t) are intended for consumption in fresh.