The Star reported on 12th August 2007 that Chew Swee King, 40 of Kg Grisek, near Muar, Johor has made his millions as Malaysia’s biggest mushroom producer and exporter. Naming his product “Grisek mushrooms”, presently he exports 30% of his mushrooms fresh to Singapore while the rest is presumably sold in this country. As for processed mushrooms, he’s exporting to India, Hong Kong, Brunei, Indonesia and Canada. His next plan is to export to the Middle East.

His company name is C&C Mushroom Cultivation Farm Company. It cultivates oyster mushrooms of various colours, abalones and Lingzhi mushrooms.

He dropped out of college in 1982. 4 years later, he attended a 2-week course on mushroom growing in 1986 at MARDI, conducted by Professor Mohammed Noor from UKM. Then he asked permission from his father to start a mushroom project on his land in 1987. He, with the help of 4 of his brothers, began to grow grey oyster mushrooms and Chew set up C&C.

He later bought the land from his father.

Today the farm produces about 150 tonnes of mushrooms a month.

According to Chew, there are around 400 mushroom growers in Malaysia, producing about RM30 million worth of mushroom products in a month.

A third of that amount comes from his company.

Source