The Department of Agriculture (DA) is advancing its import-substitution drive by supporting the investment of Basic Necessity Inc., a Filipino-owned company behind a highly automated enoki mushroom production facility in Silang, Cavite.
The first-of-its-kind venture, funded entirely by the private sector, reflects President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s push to localize strategic industries, promote agro-industrialization, create jobs, and ensure Filipinos have access to affordable, nutritious food.
Fresh enoki mushrooms, known for their low calorie content and nutrient density, are now being produced locally, giving consumers a more affordable source of healthy food while helping reduce the country’s dependence on imported mushrooms.
The integrated facility supports the government’s broader strategy of building domestic capacity in high-value crops, improving income opportunities for farmers, attracting investment in food innovation, and developing industries that could eventually generate export revenues.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. has encouraged greater private-sector participation in agro-industrialization, saying stronger links between agriculture, manufacturing, and logistics can help drive local economic development.
The opportunity is substantial. The Philippines imported 6,536 metric tons of fresh mushrooms last year, while imports account for nearly 95 percent of the formal commercial mushroom market. Demand is rising alongside the popularity of Korean, Japanese, Chinese, and hotpot cuisine.
Agriculture Undersecretary for High-Value Crops Cheryl Marie Caballero said the project shows that import substitution can generate benefits well beyond replacing foreign supply. The facility uses agricultural by-products, including corn cobs and rice hulls, as mushroom-growing substrates, creating an additional market for farm biomass estimated at five tons a week.
“This is not just about producing mushrooms. It is about building a local industry that creates jobs, supports farmers supplying agricultural biomass, and transforms materials that previously had little economic value into productive inputs,” Caballero said.
Tiu Laurel said the size of the domestic market alone makes a strong case for expanding local production.
“We have a large domestic market that is still supplied by imports. Once local demand is met, we see opportunities to export to markets such as Singapore and the Middle East,” he said. “The Philippines has the land, the capability, and the growing expertise to build a competitive enoki mushroom industry.”
The Silang facility integrates controlled-environment cultivation, processing, packing, cold storage, and refrigerated distribution for supermarkets, restaurants, hotels, institutional buyers, and online grocery platforms.
Automated cultivation also uses sawdust, rice bran, and sugarcane bagasse as growing substrates, turning low-value agricultural waste into productive inputs.
The facility is expected to directly employ about 50 workers while creating additional livelihood opportunities for farmers supplying biomass and other raw materials.
Local production could also improve freshness, food safety, and traceability, while keeping more value within the Philippine economy.
For consumers, the benefit is already visible at the checkout counter. Caballero said locally produced enoki, which previously retailed for about P80 per 200-gram pack, is now being sold for P29.75 in about 1,700 DALI stores nationwide.
The project offers a useful blueprint for import substitution. Rather than simply replacing an imported product, it connects farmers, manufacturers, workers, retailers, and consumers in a domestic value chain, while leaving the door open to exports.
In that sense, the humble enoki mushroom is growing into something considerably bigger than a supermarket staple. ### (By DA – OSEC Comms & photo by HVCDP)
