Popular exported mushrooms

Bolete:

For the past decade, Yunnan province has produced about 20,000 metric tons of boletes a year. From 5,000 to 8,000 tons is shipped to Italy, France and Poland. King bolete - boletus edulis - is the most popular species among European countries.

Matsutake:

Aside from its nutritional value and spicy, fragrant aroma, matsutake is said to help prevent cancer. People in Yunnan rarely ate matsutake before 1980, when the Japanese recognized its medicinal value. Almost 70 percent of the matsutake exported from China is grown in Yunnan, and most goes to Japan. Apart from Yunnan, the mushroom is also grown on northeastern Changbai Mountain.

Morchella:

It is a genus of edible mushrooms, also called morels. These distinctive mushrooms appear honeycomb-like, with the upper portion composed of a network of ridges and pits. Morchella is popular among gourmet chefs, particularly for French cuisine. Yunnan produces 25 tons of morchella a year, priced between 6,000 and 13,000 yuan a kg. Its popularity has steadily grown in China and, every year, about 10 tons is imported from Bhutan to satisfy the domestic market.