The popularity of mushrooms has continued to grow to the point where demand exists throughout the year, but a production shortage and an added pull of 20-30 percent that comes with the holiday season is creating an even tighter market.

On Nov. 8, the American Mushroom Institute, headquartered in Avondale, PA, issued a press release stating that record-setting summer temperatures that continued into the fall have lowered mushroom yields, resulting in shortages across the country.

With the main impact being felt by growers in southeastern Pennsylvania, where 64 percent of the nation’s mushrooms are grown, it is likely that every region of the country will be affected, according to the release.

“This situation has been ongoing for a few months,” explained Kevin Donovan, national sales manager for Phillips Mushroom Farms, headquartered in Kennett Square, PA. “Production is off quite a bit currently, and now with holiday demand coming in the market has tightened considerably.”

He noted that July and August were among the hottest on record, resulting in a substrate — the medium used to grow mushrooms produced during that time — that was not as nutritiously potent as it should have been.

“Production is off by quite a few percentage points,” said Donovan. “Now, as we head into the time of year when we typically need 20 to 30 percent more product, the entire industry in this region will fall short. That, in turn, will tighten the market even more than in recent times. I think prices will remain pretty close to where they have been for major chain stores because of contracts or agreements, but they’ll like go high for foodservice and other customers.”

Vince Versagli, director of sales for Kaolin Mushroom Farms Inc., also in Kennett Square, concurred. He pointed out that growing mushrooms is not like growing field products.

“Mushrooms are grown in dark growing rooms because they don’t need sun for nutrition,” Versagli explained. “Maximum yields are dependent on substrate that contains macro amounts of nutrients. As the summer winds down, mushroom producers are typically switching from last season’s substrate to the fresh-cut product. During that transition there’s sometimes a fermentation process, which makes the substrate behave differently. Here it was compounded by extremely hot weather. The combination of factors coming together created the situation we have now, which is basically growing on subpar substrate.”

Fred Recchiuti, general manager of Basciani Mushroom Farms in Avondale, PA, said the situation of white mushroom demand outpacing supply has been going on for some time, so a challenging crop only adds to the tight market. But, he noted an upside from the growing demand.

“I think we are starting to see the harvest from the awesome health educational efforts of our fresh fruit and vegetable trade associations, especially the Mushroom Council,” said Recchiuti. “The mighty mushroom seemingly has graduated from a specialty item to a staple in the American diet, and America as a whole will reap the benefits of eating healthier far into the future as this trend continues to gain traction.”

Donovan added that he is hopeful the shortage will work itself out in the coming weeks.

“As a mushroom grower, it’s always our hope that as weather cools we’ll be able to get back to normal,” he said. “For the coming holiday season, there’s little doubt that there will be some mushroom shortages, but we also anticipate increased high-quality crop volumes as the season unfolds.”