Olmeda president of Champinter new spokesperson for the mushroom sector of agro-food cooperatives Castilla la Mancha

The Mushroom and other Cultivated Mushrooms Sector Commission of Cooperativas Agro-alimentarias Castilla-La Mancha has elected Elías Olmeda Albiar as its new spokesperson for the next four years.

After his election, Olmeda expressed his gratitude for the support received and promised to continue working to strengthen the sector. Amongst his objectives is to give greater visibility to this agricultural product and to help resolve the major challenges facing the sector.

The new spokesman, who replaces Fermín Gómez, is currently president of the Champinter Cooperative and of the Castilian-La Mancha Association of Mushrooms and other Edible Mushrooms.

During the meeting, the current situation of the sector was analysed, with special emphasis on the problems of availability of straw for composting and the increase in production costs due to the drought and the negative effects of the war in Ukraine. To address this situation, a detailed report has been sent to the Ministry of Agriculture describing the sector’s activity and its economic, social and environmental contribution, which will also be sent to the Directorate General for the Circular Economy and Agenda 2030.

In addition, the creation of the PGI “Hongos de la Manchuela” has been considered with the aim of protecting production from imports. Another issue of concern to the mushroom sector was the disappearance of active substances for the control of the dry mole and the spider’s web.