Uttar Pradesh Claims Top Position in India’s Mushroom Production

Uttar Pradesh moves into first place

Uttar Pradesh has become India’s largest mushroom-producing state, overtaking states that historically dominated the sector. Hindi News18 reported that the state now accounts for approximately 14% of India’s mushroom output. The publication said Haryana and Punjab had previously led production before Bihar moved ahead, but Uttar Pradesh has now surpassed all three.

A separate report by ABP Live, citing data from the Uttar Pradesh Horticulture Department, put the state’s production at 51,000 metric tonnes in 2024-25. It estimated total Indian output at about 427,000 metric tonnes and Uttar Pradesh’s share at roughly 13%. The difference between the 13% and 14% estimates indicates that the reported share may depend on the dataset, reporting period or rounding method used.

A rapid change in state rankings

The latest claim represents a substantial change from the position recorded earlier in the decade. A study published in the Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences showed that Uttar Pradesh supplied 5% of national mushroom production in 2016-17 and 8% in 2020-21. Punjab’s share fell from 14% to 7% over the same period, while Haryana declined from 12% to 8%.

Bihar was the leading state in the study’s 2020-21 data, increasing its share from 2% in 2016-17 to 11%. Maharashtra and Odisha each held 10%. The study also found that Uttar Pradesh added 12,700 tonnes between 2016-17 and 2020-21, making it one of the larger contributors to India’s overall production increase during that period.

Competition shifts beyond the traditional northern belt

India’s mushroom industry has therefore become more geographically competitive. Punjab and Haryana established an early lead, but Bihar subsequently expanded quickly, while Maharashtra and Odisha also secured significant positions. Uttar Pradesh’s reported rise to 13%-14% places another large northern agricultural state at the head of a market whose rankings have changed repeatedly.

The production shift matters for growers, spawn suppliers, processors and wholesale buyers. A larger crop in Uttar Pradesh can increase the volume available to domestic distribution channels, while competing states face greater pressure to retain buyers and production capacity. The available reports do not provide state-level price, processing or trade data, so the effect on margins and interstate flows cannot yet be quantified.

Data differences require caution

Industry participants should treat the first-place claim as a recent estimate rather than a perfectly comparable long-term series. Published figures for Indian mushroom output have varied by institution and reporting year. The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences documented Bihar as the leader in 2020-21, while News18 and ABP Live now place Uttar Pradesh first using more recent information.

Even with the difference between the reported 13% and 14% shares, both accounts point to the same direction: Uttar Pradesh has expanded much faster than its earlier national position would suggest. For producers in Punjab, Haryana, Bihar, Maharashtra and Odisha, the change signals stronger competition from Uttar Pradesh for inputs, wholesale customers and investment in cultivation and handling capacity.