“This year’s supply is similar to last year’s,” says Bill Litvin of Temple, Pa.-based Giorgio Fresh Co. “We found that the industry supply though was very tight in November, December and January.”
Litvin notes that currently 64 per cent of the U.S. mushroom supply comes from the state of Pennsylvania. “California is the second largest producing state, with fresh mushrooms also supplied from a dozen other states across the country,” he says. “Fourteen per cent of mushrooms sold in the U.S. are imported, mostly from Mexico and Canada.”
Costs and consumption up
While Litvin notes that costs of producing mushrooms continue to rise—from increasing labor costs to transportation and more—he also says consumption of mushrooms continues to increase. “Organics and healthy food choices have been on trend for some time now with consumers and we don’t expect this trend to slow down anytime soon,” he adds.
Looking ahead, he says demand for fresh mushrooms will continue to be strong throughout the next several months. “Retail promotions will likely be heavy as fresh local produce is less available and fresh mushrooms being versatile and available year round,” he says.
New product for SEPC
At the same time, along with providing fresh conventionally grown and organic mushrooms, Giorgio is also taking its newest product to the upcoming Southern Southern Exposure 2018 show March 1-3. The product, Blendabella, is a ready-to-eat blend of portabella mushrooms, vegetables and herbs.
“The SEPC show is a premier regional event that we look forward to attending every year,” Litvin says. “It gives us the opportunity to interact with customers as well as other attendees and we look forward to spending quality face time with new and existing customers.”
Bill Litvin
Giorgio Fresh Mushrooms
Tel: +1-610-926-2800
blitvin@giorgiofresh.com
www.giorgiofresh.com