ISSN 2167-0447
International Journal of Agricultural Sciences ISSN: 2167-0447 Vol. 15 (5), pp. 001-016, May, 2025. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Comparative Study on Button Mushroom vs. Oyster Mushroom: Empirical Estimates of Costs, Returns and Marketing Perspective in Mid Hills of Himachal Pradesh, India
Girish Mahajan1, Saina Walia2 and Rajesh Thakur3
1Extension Specialist (Agricultural Economics), Krishi Vigyan Kendra-Hamirpur-Bara.
2Ex- PG student, Department of Agricultural Economics, Extension Education and Rural Sociology and
3Principal Scientist, Department of AgriculturalEconomics,ExtensionEducationandRuralSociology-CSKHPAU-Palampur.
Abstract
Accepted March 24, 2025
This study examines the economic performance, cost structures and marketing dynamic of button and oyster mushrooms in Kangra valley of Himachal Pradesh. A simple random sample of 60 mushroom growers, categorized into small (40) and large (20) on the basis of number of compost bags they kept by using cumulative square root frequency method, were collected by survey method on a well structured and pre-tested schedule for the agricultural year 2023-24. The findings revealed that button mushroom generates a gross income of Rs.45, 149 per 100 bags whereas for oyster mushroom it was Rs. 21,960 per 100 bags. Button mushrooms incur higher input costs due to compost and labour requirements, yet yield greater net returns compared to oyster mushrooms. The fixed cost constitutes 27.31 per cent of the total cost which was half of that of oyster mushroom (51.59%). The share of variable cost in the total cost of producing both types of mushrooms was more in case of button mushroom (72.69%) than in oyster mushroom (48.41%). The net return over total cost and over variable cost was higher for button mushrooms than the oyster mushrooms. The breakeven output of button mushroom in terms of mushroom production in kg was 100 kg whereas the respective figure for oyster mushroom was 72 kg. Three marketing channels were followed in button mushroom in the research area but channel-2 (Mushroom grower---Retailer—Consumer) was the most widely used channel through which 48.16 per cent of the total quantity was marketed by 40.60 per cent of the mushroom growers. In case of oyster mushroom, only two marketing channels were followed i. e. channel-1 and channel-2.All the findings of the comparative analysis demonstrates the economic superiority of button mushrooms over oyster mushrooms in terms of profitability, driven primarily by consumer preferences and established market channels in the Kangra valley.
Keywords: Button mushrooms, Oyster mushrooms, cost, return, breakeven, marketing channel, fixed cost, variable cost.