Xuân designs and decorates various types and colors of boxes for nearly 20 mushroom varieties. Photo thanhnien.vn

BẾN TRE - A farmer in Bến Tre Province is earning nearly VNĐ30 million per month growing colourful, eye-catching mushrooms.

33-year-old Mai Thị Ánh Xuân in Châu Thành District has a mushroom farm of more than 400 square metres, divided into six cultivation houses of 60 - 70 square metres with modern machinery.

She told Thanh Niên Newspaper that because she likes to eat mushrooms, in 2017, while working as a planner at a garment company in Bến Tre, she started experimenting with growing mushrooms, mainly to serve in her family's meals.

Three years later, she resigned from her job and established the Xuân Mai Mushroom Farm to start a mushroom cultivation venture.

She initially grew white and grey oyster mushrooms; however, after a while, she realised that the ease of growing these two types of mushrooms resulted in a saturated market with low selling prices.

To diversify mushroom varieties on the farm, Xuân researched and experimented with cultivating new and exotic mushroom varieties such as pink oyster, golden oyster and king oyster, among others.

Through hard work, dedication, and learning from media and social networks, her mushroom cultivation model succeeded. This success motivated the woman to gradually expand her venture.

"At present, the farm has more than 10 mushroom varieties. While pink oyster and golden oyster mushrooms are available all year round, other varieties are grown in rotation according to the seasons," Xuân said.

For example, Xuân grows termite mushrooms in June and lingzhi mushrooms during Tết.

Xuân's mushroom products do not use chemicals from production to storage and have achieved VietGAP standards.

According to Xuân, successful mushroom cultivation depends on three factors, including quality spawn, humidity and temperature, and care and hygiene during harvesting to ensure the next planting batches yield more.

Currently, with six mushroom houses, Xuân imports thousands of bags of spawn with various types and colours every month. Each month, her farm supplies more than one tonne of various mushrooms to the market.

In lunar July each year, output increases to nearly two tonnes because more people choose vegetarian meals.

The price of oyster mushrooms ranges from VNĐ50,000 to 60,000 per kilo; higher-end mushroom varieties fluctuate from VNĐ80,000 to 200,000 per kilo.

Thanks to this, Xuân earns nearly VNĐ30 million in profit every month.

Xuân’s farm does not only sell wholesale and retail but she also creates many mushroom products to serve people's needs.

Regarding her love for mushroom cultivation, Xuân told Voice of Việt Nam that "the mushroom profession brings about clean products, and I can diversify the products to meet the people's needs. In mushroom cultivation, one must be diligent, constantly explore, and find ways to enhance the product line. My farm produces many types of mushrooms that can be used for hot pot, and on occasions like October 20th or March 8th."

Currently, Xuân’s mushroom farm is also a place for students and tourists to visit. Here, people can experience growing, caring for, and harvesting mushrooms. -VNS