Avondale, PA – “There was a wholesale change in the way in which NASS collected and reported its data this year, making it impossible to compare the 2019 figures with previous years, and impossible to extract the analysis and conclusions we’ve long relied on the NASS for,” said
AMI President Rachel Roberts. State data and key pieces of information were omitted. Put simply, the comparative value of the data isn’t valid for determining trends, and there is too much information in question to provide an informed comment. Our expectation, given the chronic challenges growers face, was a dip in production, but we’re unable to offer valuable information on which any business decisions can be made.
“What we do know is that U.S. mushroom growers continue to face rising costs due to weather volatility, continued labor issues, changes in consumer preferences for more costly-to-grow varieties and organics, transportation expenses, and more, just as the industry is preparing for its busy fall holiday season. Growers continue to look for ways to improve efficiencies where they can, however, right now they are operating at full capacity and unfortunately facing headwinds beyond their control.
“While this has been described to us by NASS as a “transition” reporting year, we expect future reports will offer comparable data and will provide a more complete description of the industry that we look forward to including as an important resource for decision-making.”
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About AMI
The American Mushroom Institute (AMI), headquartered in Avondale, Pennsylvania, is a national voluntary trade association representing the growers, processors and marketers of cultivated mushrooms in the United States and industry suppliers worldwide. For more information, visit www.americanmushroom.org.
