Demand for mushrooms is a strong as ever according to Paul Parmenter from Walsh Mushrooms. "People are eating more healthily and more people are using mushrooms as a substitute for meat which is great for the mushroom sector, although it is difficult to measure the direct influence on mushrooms sales. The Mushroom Bureau is currently running a campaign “Bring on the Blend” promoting meat free or reduced meat recipes."
Walsh Mushrooms has production 52 weeks of the year from the farms in the UK and Ireland as well as sourcing from other growers. They supply the UK market with over 400 tonnes each week. All of the company's Irish production is sold in the UK, which is less than 50% self-sufficient in mushroom production.
Last year Walsh introduced a Vitamin D mushroom, this is treated under UV light, providing a rich source of Vitamin D in a portion of mushrooms. It is good for northern European markets where there is less sunlight during the winter months so less chance to soak up natural vitamin D.
White and brown mushrooms remain the most popular, the exotic varieties are always interesting but only count for less than 2% of the market.
"Mushroom production has seen inflation in cost recently, factors include increases in utilities and in straw prices due to the dry summer where the price doubled this year. A main factor in increased cost is a shortage in labour. It is well known that labour is short in the UK, people are uncertain about Brexit and the drop in the value of the pound means foreign workers can earn well in Europe, but that said Europe is also short on labour."
A mushroom has around 7 days shelf-life so if there are any delays at the ports in the event of Brexit, there is little leeway. "We are focusing on carrying on, " says Paul. "There is a lot of inflation in the industry and we need to stay focused on producing quality mushrooms and see what happens when a deal is agreed. The biggest challenge will be for labour, as in all the fresh produce sector. At least there is still some optimism being in the food industry as people still need to eat after all."
