Number of mushroom growers plummets as output remains stable

THE number of mushroom growers has declined from 504 in 2000 to 85 at present, Agriculture Minister Brendan Smith told the Dáil.

However, he said the level of output has remained relatively stable as there has been an increase in the scale of operation of the growers remaining in the business in an effort to reduce unit costs.

The minister was responding in a written reply to Cavan Monaghan Fine Gael TD Seymour Crawford.