Demand for mushrooms is on the slower side. “We don’t know why it has been off. Obviously, the current economic situation and inflated food costs would be my guess as to why it would be different than last year,” says Brenda Barney of Mountain View Mushrooms, who notes that the mushroom movement has been this way for a few months now. She does add that demand for cremini mushrooms has increased over the last year and perhaps is due to consumers looking to try different varieties and flavors.
At the moment, there also does seem to be a lot of product in the marketplace. “Not only is demand off but there are also some competitors in our markets who haven’t been there before, which would explain why there is more product available,” she says.
Demand to pick up?
That said, it’s coming into the time of year when mushroom demand will be at its strongest. “Our demand is usually the strongest from Thanksgiving to Easter--we’re hoping for a strong ski and convention season,” says Barney.
How is this impacting pricing? In the last few years, Barney says it saw some large price increases because of higher growing costs resulting from COVID-19 and the supply chain issues. Since then, prices have held relatively steady and the market hasn’t seen large price increases for some time now. “Mushroom prices generally stay pretty steady unless there is a large upheaval in the cost of raw materials. Our goal is to hold them as steady as possible,” adds Barney.
For more information:
Brenda Barney
Mountain View Mushrooms
Tel: +1 (435) 767-0050
[email protected]
www.mountainviewmushrooms.com