Polish forest authorities concerned about Romanian mushroom pickers

Poland’s state forest authorities have expressed concern about groups of Romanian mushroom pickers whom they suspect of conducting unauthorised commercial operations in Polish forests, selling the produce abroad.

Mushroom picking is a traditional activity in Poland, with many people heading into forests at this time of year. In recent years, large numbers of mushroom pickers from Romania have also appeared in the southern Podkarpacie region, notes Gazeta Wyborcza.

Citizens of other European Union countries are allowed to pick mushrooms recreationally in Polish forests. However, to do so on a commercial scale, they need to sign an agreement with State Forests (Lasy Państwowe), the authority that oversees around 80% of Poland’s forests on behalf of the treasury.

“I know that these mushrooms have gone to Germany, to France,” Zbigniew Żywiec, an inspector from State Forests, told Gazeta Wyborcza. “An agreement with State Forests must be signed for the industrial harvesting of mushrooms. No one has signed such a contract here.”

Various foresters told the newspaper that they are afraid of confronting the groups of young men picking mushrooms. A spokesman for police in Krosno, a town in Podkarpacie, said that their officers will join the foresters as part of “strengthened patrols”.

While local residents and forest managers have complained to the police and prosecutors about foreign pickers, the authorities have so far said there are no legal grounds to intervene.

The district prosecutor’s office in Krosno, for example, chose not to initiate proceedings. Police say they have not registered any misdemeanours

Mushroom picking is something of a national autumn pastime in Poland. In the 7.6 million hectares supervised by State Forests, no certifications are required for recreational picking (with the exception of national parks and areas with special protections), reports Wirtualna Polska.

Many Poles also collect mushrooms for sale, with an estimated 7 million kilograms sold each year, according to Statistics Poland (GUS), the country’s official statistics body.

There are 47 species on the government’s list of mushrooms approved for food circulation. The most popular types include chanterelles, boletes, bay boletes, saffron milk caps, larch boletes, birch bolete and parasol mushrooms.

There are, however, also several toxic varieties, which every year lead to many poisonings. In two separate incidents last month, Afghans recently evacuated to Poland were seriously poisoned after eating toxic mushrooms growing near the refugee centres where they were being housed. Two children died as a result.

Main image credit: MOs810/Wikipedia Common (under CC BY-SA 4.0)

Maria Wilczek

Maria Wilczek is deputy editor of Notes from Poland. She is a regular writer for The Times, The Economist and Al Jazeera English, and has also featured in Foreign Policy, Politico Europe, The Spectator and Gazeta Wyborcza.