Supply chain, labor and pandemic issues hurt mushroom production

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said the volume of sales of the 2020-21 U.S. mushroom crop totaled 758 million pounds, down 7% from last season.

Value of sales for the crop was $1.06 billion, down 8% from the previous season. 

 Some of the decreases can be explained by the COVID-19 pandemic, namely, abrupt and prolonged closings of foodservice outlets, American Mushroom Institute President Rachel Roberts said in a news release.

“In addition to the pandemic impacts, commercial mushroom growers saw no end in sight to raw material shortages, the embattled and continued labor shortage and increased transportation, gas and oil costs,” Roberts said in the release. 

In general, mushroom growers are working with only 75% of the workforce needed to harvest full yields, according to the release.

“Despite providing an essential product throughout the pandemic, mushroom farms have not experienced any market changes that reflect the essential nature of the food they produce and the workforce that produces it.” Roberts said in the release. “Yet prices and labor policies that don’t reflect market demand for mushrooms continue to artificially squeeze margins that need to expand in order to accommodate the consumers’ booming appetite for mushrooms.” 

Strengthening consumer demand for mushrooms is likely to continue, according to a recent study cited by Roberts, which found 97% of people who are cooking with mushrooms at home this year plan to cook the same or even more once the pandemic subsides.

“Higher consumption, combined with increased awareness about mushrooms’ health benefits – all point to mushrooms holding strong at retail – which naturally carries over to foodservice as menu developers take continued note of mushrooms’ growing prestige,” Mark Lang, author of the study and associate professor of marketing at The University of Tampa, said in the release.