USDA confirms mushroom misery
USDA confirms mushroom misery
It's official. Mushroom prices are down and so are mushroom supplies.
The National Statistics Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Statistics Board released its annual study Aug. 16 on U.S. mushroom production and prices.
NASS figures show that 2005-06 mushroom sales were 843 million pounds, down 1 percent from both the 2004-05 and 2003- 04 seasons. The 843-million-pound total marks the nation's "lowest level since 1998, confirming how seriously increased production costs have affected the mushroom industry," a NASS press release stated. The average price for fresh mushrooms fell to $1.12 in 2005-06 from $1.14 in 2004-05.
The value of sales for the 2005-06 crop was $881 million, down 3 percent from the previous season and down 4 percent from 2003- 04. The average price was $1.05 a pound, down 2 cents from 2004-05.
Oddly enough, NASS indicated that the number of mushroom growers in the last year rose 9 percent, to 305.
But this count of the total number of growers was off by at least one very important factor, according to Laura Phelps, president of the American Mushroom Institute in Washington, DC. She told The Produce News that the study numbers accounted for July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2006. At the end of June 2006, 25 million pounds went out of production when Franklin Farms in North Franklin, CT, closed its mainstream mushroom production. (At that time, the company indicated to The Produce News that it planned to produce a very small volume of specialty mushrooms.)
The NASS study found that Agaricus fresh-market mushroom production was up 1 percent over the previous year. Agaricus are white and brown mushrooms, which includes Portabellas and Criminis. The latest numbers show that mushrooms for processing were down 9 percent from the previous year, to 129 million pounds. Sales for all Agaricus mushrooms totaled $841 million, down 2 percent from the previous season and 4 percent below 2003-04.
Ms. Phelps said Aug. 21 that she had been talking with her members since the release of the USDA annual mushroom statistics. Their message to her was: "What we have been telling you is in black and white. Production costs have gone up with us. We have to raise prices or go the way of Franklin."
Ms. Phelps discussed with her growers the odd economic quirk that mushroom prices have continued to fall despite declining supplies. The feedback is that the industry "will contradict economic theory no longer" because growers will simply either raise their price or go out of business.
"I think that across the board, prices will go up for growers of mushrooms - starting very soon. They all knew it was going on, that they were hurting" financially. Now, armed with the statistical data, "they know that everyone is hurting and they will go out with price increases." With the loss of Franklin and a hot summer that reduced mushroom production, "there are not a lot of mushrooms around," Ms. Phelps noted.
She applauded the renewed promotion efforts of the Mushroom Council (Mushroom Council unveils new marketing plans, Aug. 21) and expects that work to rebuild demand. "This is a big push for increased sales at retail and foodservice," she said. The growers feel that "we are pushing on our side to build demand, and we hope the retailers and foodservice operators will do their part too."
In the NASS release, she said, "Retailers know that mushrooms are a must-have item for their shelves -- both from the consumer and profit perspective." Retail "true" profit per square foot (Willard Bishop 2005 Grocery Superstudy) for mushrooms is nearly three times higher than the true profit per square foot for the average produce item. "Producers need a better return to meet costs and sustain their operations so that production can continue and market demand be met," Ms. Phelps said.
"Producers have done everything they can to reduce costs and hold the line on price, yields have grown, existing capacity is being used more efficiently. Every cost possible has been removed from the production system in order to maintain supply and quality at levels the market requires," she added.
The NASS statistics indicated:
--- Of the 305 growers of all types of mushrooms, 119 grow the Agaricus variety.
--- Agaricus mushrooms account for 98.5 percent of production. Included in this amount are brown mushrooms, such as Portabella and Crimini varieties, which accounted for 14 percent of Agaricus sales, up 17 percent from last season.
--- Specialty mushroom production (Shiitake, Oyster and Enoki) totaled 14.2 million pounds with a sales value of $40.7 million.
The National Statistics Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Statistics Board released its annual study Aug. 16 on U.S. mushroom production and prices.
NASS figures show that 2005-06 mushroom sales were 843 million pounds, down 1 percent from both the 2004-05 and 2003- 04 seasons. The 843-million-pound total marks the nation's "lowest level since 1998, confirming how seriously increased production costs have affected the mushroom industry," a NASS press release stated. The average price for fresh mushrooms fell to $1.12 in 2005-06 from $1.14 in 2004-05.
The value of sales for the 2005-06 crop was $881 million, down 3 percent from the previous season and down 4 percent from 2003- 04. The average price was $1.05 a pound, down 2 cents from 2004-05.
Oddly enough, NASS indicated that the number of mushroom growers in the last year rose 9 percent, to 305.
But this count of the total number of growers was off by at least one very important factor, according to Laura Phelps, president of the American Mushroom Institute in Washington, DC. She told The Produce News that the study numbers accounted for July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2006. At the end of June 2006, 25 million pounds went out of production when Franklin Farms in North Franklin, CT, closed its mainstream mushroom production. (At that time, the company indicated to The Produce News that it planned to produce a very small volume of specialty mushrooms.)
The NASS study found that Agaricus fresh-market mushroom production was up 1 percent over the previous year. Agaricus are white and brown mushrooms, which includes Portabellas and Criminis. The latest numbers show that mushrooms for processing were down 9 percent from the previous year, to 129 million pounds. Sales for all Agaricus mushrooms totaled $841 million, down 2 percent from the previous season and 4 percent below 2003-04.
Ms. Phelps said Aug. 21 that she had been talking with her members since the release of the USDA annual mushroom statistics. Their message to her was: "What we have been telling you is in black and white. Production costs have gone up with us. We have to raise prices or go the way of Franklin."
Ms. Phelps discussed with her growers the odd economic quirk that mushroom prices have continued to fall despite declining supplies. The feedback is that the industry "will contradict economic theory no longer" because growers will simply either raise their price or go out of business.
"I think that across the board, prices will go up for growers of mushrooms - starting very soon. They all knew it was going on, that they were hurting" financially. Now, armed with the statistical data, "they know that everyone is hurting and they will go out with price increases." With the loss of Franklin and a hot summer that reduced mushroom production, "there are not a lot of mushrooms around," Ms. Phelps noted.
She applauded the renewed promotion efforts of the Mushroom Council (Mushroom Council unveils new marketing plans, Aug. 21) and expects that work to rebuild demand. "This is a big push for increased sales at retail and foodservice," she said. The growers feel that "we are pushing on our side to build demand, and we hope the retailers and foodservice operators will do their part too."
In the NASS release, she said, "Retailers know that mushrooms are a must-have item for their shelves -- both from the consumer and profit perspective." Retail "true" profit per square foot (Willard Bishop 2005 Grocery Superstudy) for mushrooms is nearly three times higher than the true profit per square foot for the average produce item. "Producers need a better return to meet costs and sustain their operations so that production can continue and market demand be met," Ms. Phelps said.
"Producers have done everything they can to reduce costs and hold the line on price, yields have grown, existing capacity is being used more efficiently. Every cost possible has been removed from the production system in order to maintain supply and quality at levels the market requires," she added.
The NASS statistics indicated:
--- Of the 305 growers of all types of mushrooms, 119 grow the Agaricus variety.
--- Agaricus mushrooms account for 98.5 percent of production. Included in this amount are brown mushrooms, such as Portabella and Crimini varieties, which accounted for 14 percent of Agaricus sales, up 17 percent from last season.
--- Specialty mushroom production (Shiitake, Oyster and Enoki) totaled 14.2 million pounds with a sales value of $40.7 million.
