It’s been a rough couple of years for Belgian mushroom growers in Flanders. Of the 160 mushroom companies in 2000, only 40 are left. “High costs and a strong Euro have all but killed the industry,” says head of the Farmers Union Piet Vanthemsche.
A financial injection by the government in 2008, two deposits of 400,000 Euro, has helped alleviate the difficulties. But the worst is far from over. The Union always advocated affordable wages and an effective system of season labour, but despite several measures the sector is still in a rut.
A shift of production to Poland is a reality everybody has to deal with. The wages are lower there, and there is no expensive Euro.
In Holland, the industry has seen a strong recovery, a fact Vanthemsche claims is due to “companies circumventing labour costs with some highly questionable procedures.” The head of the Union doesn’t think the industry in Flanders is without future. “But we ought to be able to fight with equal arms.”
Source: Boer&Tuinder/VILT