Morchella processing extends industrial chain for enriching rural households in Pingyi

Morchella (morel mushroom), a high‑value edible fungus, has spawned a complete primary‑and‑deep‑processing industrial chain in Pingyi County. Local cooperatives move beyond simple drying and raw‑fruit sales, developing morchella‑flavor sauce and other processed products, raising added value for characteristic agriculture and creating stable income for mountain‑area villagers.

In Baotai Town of Pingyi, Jifeng Edible‑Fungi Cooperative has built standardized processing workshops. In past years, local morel producers mainly sold fresh mushrooms or simple dried products. Fresh morchella has a very short shelf life, restricting sales radius and exposing growers to market‑price fluctuations. To solve these pain‑points, the cooperative invested in steaming, stir‑frying, filling and high‑temperature sterilization equipment to launch morchella‑flavor sauce as its flagship deep‑processing product.

The whole production workflow follows strict food‑safety specifications. Fresh morchella goes through sorting, trimming and soaking. Mushroom dices are stir‑fried with soybean paste, chili and spice ingredients under controlled temperature to lock in original fungus aroma. Finished sauce is filled into glass jars and sterilized for long‑term shelf‑stable storage. This innovative product transforms highly perishable fresh fungi into shelf‑stable consumer goods suitable for nationwide online and offline distribution.

Pingyi's morchella industry also explores circular‑agriculture modes. The “morel plus bean‑worm” rotational‑planting pattern makes full use of greenhouse idle seasons: greenhouses cultivate morel mushrooms in winter‑spring seasons; then soybeans are planted and bean‑worm breeding is carried out in summer and autumn, improving overall land output and increasing multi‑source revenue for farmers.

Local authorities support the industrial upgrading by linking cooperatives with universities for technical research, assisting with food‑production‑license approval and building regional agricultural‑product public brands. The morchella chain integrates planting, primary drying, deep‑processing, e‑commerce sales and agritourism picking experiences.

Moving forward, Pingyi will continue to expand the product portfolio of fungus‑derived condiments and pre‑cooked dishes, strengthen brand marketing and help mountain‑side rural communities convert specialty‑crop advantages into lasting wealth‑generating capacity.

Editor：韩蒙蒙