They can find 3 pieces after wandering around for hours! It's sold by the gram, not by the kilo.

05.11.2025 16:03

Drought has nearly wiped out production in the Istranca Forests, one of Turkey's important mushroom regions. With the delay in rainfall, the mushroom population has decreased to almost nothing, and prices have risen from 200 TL to 500 TL. Wholesalers and foragers summarized the situation by saying, "This year, we are selling mushrooms by the gram."

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In the Istranca Forests, one of Turkey's important mushroom-growing regions, the population has decreased to almost nothing this year due to the drought experienced. Necati Mert, who has been a mushroom wholesaler in the Saray district of Tekirdağ for 25 years, said, "Last year, the price of mushrooms was between 150 and 200 lira per kilo, this year it is 500 TL. The price has increased compared to last year."

The drought caused by extreme heat and insufficient rainfall across the country has also affected the Istranca Forests, which are significant mushroom-growing areas in Turkey. In the forest where tons of mushrooms grow, the population decreased this year as there was no rainfall at the end of August and in September. Those who used to go out to collect boletus and king mushrooms, which were exported to European countries such as Italy, France, and Germany in previous years, are returning empty-handed. The price of mushrooms, which was 200 lira per kilo last year, has risen to 500 lira this year due to the drought.

"THIS YEAR WE ARE SELLING MUSHROOMS BY THE GRAM"

Necati Mert, who has been a mushroom wholesaler in the Saray district for 25 years, stated that this year the mushrooms are almost nonexistent, saying, "This year there are no mushrooms, only 1% of last year's mushrooms are available. The rains were very late this year. There was no rain at the end of August and in September. Therefore, it is as if we have no mushrooms this year. We are weighing the mushrooms by the gram this year. We are buying from collectors in 50 grams, 100 grams. In other words, very few bring them by the kilo, it's almost nonexistent. The price of mushrooms, which was between 150 and 200 lira per kilo last year, is now 500 TL. The price has increased compared to last year. When mushrooms are scarce, the price inevitably rises. People are wandering around for hours but cannot find any. They can collect at most 1 kilo or less per day. That's why there is not much interest in mushrooms right now. In a month, we will have trumpet and beef tongue mushrooms. Hopefully, the recent rains will help with that," he said.

"LATE RAINS ARE A FACTOR"

Osman Kahya, who has been collecting mushrooms in the region for 10 years, stated that the late rains have a significant impact on the absence of mushrooms, saying, "This year, there are very few mushrooms due to the rains. There is not even one-tenth of last year's amount this year. We are missing last year. Last year we were collecting 20 kilos, 15 kilos, 10 kilos, but this year there is none. Whoever finds 1 kilo is lucky. The rains came late. The weather has cooled down, it is 7-8 degrees at night, and mushrooms are not coming out. If the rains had come 15-20 days ago, there would have been mushrooms. Now, due to the late rains, there are almost no mushrooms," he expressed.

Mushroom collector Ulaş Faruk Demircioğlu also said, "There are mushrooms right now, but not as many as before. I have been wandering in the forest for 3 hours and have only found 3 mushrooms; this is all we could find so far."