The volume of sales for the U.S. 2018-19 mushroom crop is pegged at 846 million pounds, down 3% from last season in comparable states, according to a December report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The value of sales for the 2018-19 mushroom crop totaled $1.13 billion, according to the USDA. That is down slightly from the previous season for comparable states. The average reported price was $1.34 per pound, up 3 cents from the previous year’s price for comparable states.
According to the updated report, brown mushrooms (portabella and crimini) saw increases in both volume and value of sales from 2018 to 2019.
Sales volume increased 2.7%, and the value of sales rose 6.3%.
The USDA said specialty mushrooms saw a decrease of 2% in overall production, though shiitake sales increased 12% from 2018.
In August, the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Services released its annual mushroom report, but the way it collected and reported mushroom data was changed, making it difficult to make accurate comparisons, according to the American Mushroom Institute. The December mushroom report from the USDA resolved some of that difficulty by comparing the same eight mushroom-producing states for both years, according to the American Mushroom Institute.
“These updated data points confirm what we’ve been seeing in the industry over the past year,” American Mushroom Institute Executive Director Rachel Roberts said in the release. “Mushroom growers face increased production costs such as climate volatility, protracted labor policy issues, changes in consumer preferences and transportation expenses.
“They are increasing their efficiencies in the growing houses by expanding their precision agriculture practices, research and data collection to continue to meet the growing demand for mushrooms,” she said in the release. “We’re grateful to NASS for providing these data highlights that allow the industry to more accurately see its trends.”
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