Experiencing steady growth and worth a total of £353 million, the mushroom industry has had a unique year.
Attracting heavyweight support, government funding and consumer interest alike, mushroom production in the UK and Ireland is where it’s at. Major producing companies in both countries are leading the way with forward-thinking projects and modern production plants, while serious financial backing from various government bodies and retailer and consumer-driven campaigns are rivalling even the most ambitious and cash-rich sectors.
And all of this movement has happened at just the right time, as Polish mushroom production becomes less attractive financially for both the country’s producers and UK importers and at a time when more consumers are asking where their food comes from. Of course, mushrooms as a product are unique in themselves and do not cause the same level of interest as a more visually-harvested fruit or vegetable in the UK, like strawberries or runner beans. But despite this, through various grow-your-own campaigns and continual work by the industry-funded Mushroom Bureau, consumers are calling for more home-grown product.
Mushroom self-sufficiency within the British Isles is still some way off. At the moment Britain produces around 30 per cent of what it consumes and Irish production contributes a further 30-35 per cent, leaving around a third of consumption that has to come from further afield, usually the Netherlands or Poland.
And while technically a different country, there is evidence to suggest that Ireland is considered “home” when looking for domestic produce in the UK. According to Irish mushroom producers Monaghan Mushrooms, Breffni Mushrooms, Walsh Mushrooms and Commercial Mushroom Producers Co-operative Society (CMP) Ltd - which have teamed up under the umbrella of Irish Mushrooms to launch the Stock Local, Stock Irish campaign to educate retailers on the benefits of stocking Irish mushrooms and break down preconceived barriers to purchase - 86 per cent of UK consumers are perfectly happy to buy mushrooms from any part of the British Isles, including Ireland.
“We have a very special product, which can’t be substituted for any other types of vegetable,” says spokesperson for both the Mushroom Bureau and the Irish Mushroom campaign, Stephen Allen. “And retailers can’t deny the push for local or British any more. It is becoming increasingly difficult for retailers to justify giving more shelf space to mushrooms from overseas. Adding to the provenance credentials, mushrooms are a taste enhancer, low in fat and calories and a good source of folic acid. There is a very positive story to tell.”
Indeed there is and as a result of these attributes, women have been the main targets for both the Irish Mushroom and Mushroom Bureau campaigns. Thanks to £1.2m funding that was matched by the industry, this year will see a three-stage media and advertising campaign aimed at women aged 25-45 years old, which is already running in the way of women’s press, digital advertisements and PR activities. These activities will run for three years and look to change the face of the mushroom industry in the British Isles. “It has been quite a year,” says Allen. “We have a really strong idea in the Mushrooms Make Sense campaign, which looks at the variety of ways you can cook with mushrooms in a creative and engaging way. Our activities before receiving the EU funding have shown that mushroom promotion increases consumption.”
The Stock Local, Stock Irish campaign began in September 2010, with plans to continue until this year. The campaign’s main aim is to reverse the situation that Irish mushroom producers have found themselves in, where some UK retailers were increasingly asking for UK mushrooms and considering Irish product as foreign.
Allen says that so far the Irish Mushroom campaign has been very successful. “There will always be a very important role for Irish mushrooms, as the UK is not self-sufficient,” he adds. “And with people asking for local food, the Polish and Dutch markets may well be ones that retailers will walk away from in the future.”
There’s no doubt that the mushroom industry is gearing up for change, in both the UK and Ireland. August 2010 saw major Irish grower Monaghan Mushrooms open a €12m production facility in Tyholland, which will produce an estimated 5,980 tonnes of mushrooms a year mostly destined for the UK, while UK firm Sussex Mushrooms has embarked on a £10m plan that it claims will see it become one of the most technically advanced suppliers in Europe.
But despite this encouragement, some in the industry remain cautious. “This is a highly capitalised and skilled industry and not one you can bob in and out of - you are either in it or you go out of it, never to return,” warns Greyfriars’ chairman John Smith. “And that has been the experience in the UK over the past 20 to 30 years - substantial contraction to the level of current volumes - equal to about 27-30 per cent of local demand… With regard to the UK as a preferred choice, [self-sufficiency] is irrelevant because the UK can only account for about 30 per cent of UK demand and since there is very little stomach left for building new farms in the UK, the prospects for 100 per cent British are non- existent.”
Sussex Mushroom’s Herbie Sullivan is optimistic that there will be an “ongoing resurgence”. “This is because there is a greater ethical responsibility to reduce food miles and the carbon footprint, as well as the exchange rate fluctuation,” he adds. “This all continues to make British mushrooms a competitive option from a price point of view.
“Customers will always be driven by quality and price, and we believe that local produce is as important to the consumer as country of origin - so yes, with better availability of British product in stores due to retail demand coupled with more local product we should see consumption of British product increase further.”
Allen agrees, although he fails to comment on whether mushroom growers are seeing a sustainable level of returns and therefore profit.
“Over time as demand increases, so will production,” he says. “But we are a long way off. In the UK, there is a lot more potential for consumption with households purchasing mushrooms on average 18 times a year, whereas in Australia it is 36 times. In 2010, we saw a lot more promotional activity and because our product has a five-day shelf life, there were difficulties with supply at times, but this year growers are a lot more prepared. The number-one challenge is remaining focused on the needs of the consumer. The quality has to be very high and if that is right, then I have no doubt that sales will grow.”
A GROWING INDUSTRY?
There are a few sectors in horticulture that are vulnerable to economic pressures and mushrooms is one of them, says Greyfriars (UK) and Northern Mushrooms chairman John Smith.
In 2008 and 2009, as the value of sterling collapsed and imports became significantly more expensive, UK growers saw some belated upward price adjustments from supermarkets and these brought a number of businesses back from the brink.
In recent months, despite increased costs of labour, transport costs, packaging and energy, there has been renewed downward price pressure on growers.
Certainly, there is a compelling argument that suggests such price pressures are borne of short-term and perhaps short-sighted buyer objectives and as such are in conflict with their longer-term strategic supply security. However, the fact of the matter is that this is the world we have chosen to operate in and it is up to us to try to reconcile the positional extremes. There is little to be gained by whingeing.
Generally speaking, common sense tends to prevail and price negotiations end up leaving both parties with some butter for the bread - although it tends to taste more like margarine for growers.
Having said all that, price pressures are not going away and are usually the drivers or catalysts to industrial advances. We must face up to them and respond appropriately. The most modern of mushroom farms can provide for improved efficiencies in energy, growing, watering, harvesting and packing - but the capital investment costs for such units are very steep indeed and you need to see the future through very well-polished spectacles and have a fair degree of courage.
Greyfriars and Northern Mushrooms both have new farm ambitions and we take the view that we are in the game for the long run - it’s a shame the local planning authorities can’t be more supportive. Having said that, hopefully we will have at least one new unit built by the summer - we are making some good progress with one group of planners, at long last.
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