Bureau on borrowed time

The mushroom category is worth roughly £350 million in the UK, but it is has been anything but a happy hunting ground for suppliers in recent years. A mature market has led to commoditisation of the product and static prices. Consistently heavy losses have seen many established, large-scale companies disappear from the scene, unhelped by supplier rationalisation across the UK supermarket chains. UK growers have been particularly hard-hit, and production has halved in the last five years as intense international competition, rising costs and diminishing returns. In the next four issues, the Journal investigates the mushroom industry, beginning this week with the potential closure of the generic communication and promotional arm of the industry - the Mushroom Bureau.