Irish mushroom growers are looking at a straw harvest for 2024 that “will be even more disastrous” than last year, the CEO of Walsh Mushrooms, Padraic O’Leary has warned.

O’Leary believes that mushroom growers use 40% of all straw made on the island of Ireland, which is now in short supply.

“The mushroom industry alone probably uses one million round bales a year,” he said. “We are a massive part of the straw market and when that marketplace is shrinking, we are the ones who pay the price for it.”

Exports

He questioned recent figures, which found that there was a €27m, or 68% increase, in the value of mushroom exports to €67.4m this year to May.

“Let’s put it this way, there’s a 37% increase in export volume. There has definitely not been a 37% increase in the volume of mushrooms produced in Ireland, so I think those numbers are skewed somewhat by a different route to market.”

Mushrooms have been a strong performer in the Irish horticulture industry, with annual output valued at €136m in 2023 and Bord Bia is attributing some of the positive figures to the impact of inflation over the last two years.

The State agency also said there are a number of critical challenges impacting the sector, including the availability and cost of labour and higher input costs.

The Irish mushroom industry is an export-focused sector, with 80% of production sold in the UK.

Bord Bia suggested that this connection will grow as an EU- and industry-funded mushroom promotional campaign, with an annual spend of €1m, is being rolled out in the UK over the next three years.

This is aimed at encouraging increased mushroom consumption. Mike Neary, director of horticulture at Bord Bia said: “The mushroom sector has proven over many years that it is a resilient sector, despite the many challenges it has faced and continues to be a key supplier of mushrooms into the UK market.”