In 2017 the farmgate value of the mushroom industry was valued at over €121m, producing 68,000 tonnes of mushrooms. The mushroom industry exports 80% of its production to the UK market and these were valued at €91m last year which was a robust performance by the sector in the context of Brexit and the impact this was having on currency rates. In volume terms exports were back slightly compared to 2016. The UK retail market, which is the key destination market for Irish mushrooms, has been showing good volume growth at a rate of 2.5% per annum reaching an all-time high while value grew by 3 %. The largest product category in the retail mushroom market in the UK is closed cup pre-packed mushrooms with almost a 50% share of total retail mushroom sales. There is larger growth in smaller sectors but from a smaller base – the two areas with the strongest growth are currently button mushrooms and brown mushrooms. In 2017 on the domestic market retail mushroom sales were strong with a 6% increase in volume and 2% in value. ✽
