Mushroom demand in Canada is strong right now and continues to gain strength. “Demand picks up the week before Christmas so we try to have extra production for that week. It can be tough though if the chains are on ad because that increases demand even more,” says Mike Medeiros of Carleton Mushroom Farms.
Currently, the production on mushrooms is lower because of strong demand, which tends to be higher during the fall, winter and spring.
In fact, currently, the production on mushrooms is lower because of strong demand, which tends to be higher during the fall, winter and spring. “In summer we have our downtime because people are traveling, etc. Demand goes down about 15-20 percent in the summer,” says Medeiros. “This summer too we had an overabundance of mushrooms. Then September 1 hit and it was like a light switch came on and people started eating mushrooms again.”
Specialty mushroom increase
While more traditional varieties such as white mushrooms and portabellas tend to see about a 10 percent increase in demand year over year, the more exotic varieties such as shitake, oyster and king oyster see an almost 20 percent increase. “As our population welcomes people of different ethnicities moving here, they like varieties such as oysters and shiitake. More and more people are branching out and trying those varieties,” Medeiros commented.
Left: portabella mushrooms; right: oyster mushrooms
He notes that demand feels even higher this year than last because of the current economic outlook. “More and more people are watching their dollars and mushrooms are consistently priced. Even when there’s a shortage, it never goes up. It just stays the same.”
At the same time, the rise of plant-based diets is also significantly fueling the demand for mushrooms.
That said, this year, prices have increased somewhat. “Though they aren’t where they should be--they should go up more,” he says, noting increasing costs are a challenge to growers. “We’re price takers in our industry so we just have to find ways to save or produce more.”
For more information:
Mike Medeiros
Carleton Mushroom Farms
Tel: +1 (613) 826-2868
[email protected]
https://www.carletonmushroom.com/