The number of mushroom farmers in the State has declined over the last five years but the remaining growers have increased annual production, a Teagasc survey has shown.
The survey of the industry found that last year the State's 409 growers produced 68,000 tonnes of mushrooms with a farmgate value of €130 million, mainly for export to the UK market.
The survey, compiled by Teagasc mushroom advisers, Mr Gerry Walsh, Mr Peter Leonard and Mr Tom Kellegher, showed the number of producers has continued to decline and fell from 576 in 1997 to 409 in 2001.
It found that a significant number of smaller growers had ceased production or had leased their units to other growers.
It also found that committed growers had erected new production facilities and that new producers had joined the industry.
There are 465 mushroom production units in the State with total employment of over 4,400 full-time equivalent jobs.
Co Monaghan produced the most mushrooms with 122 units, followed by Cavan with 58, Roscommon with 38, Mayo with 36 and Tipperary with 33.
Significant production also takes place in Donegal, Wexford, Kildare, Longford and Galway.
While mushrooms are now produced in every county, Clare, Cork, Laois, Kilkenny, Limerick and Waterford all have less than five production units.
The survey also shows a trend towards a new production system, called Dutch Shelf Farms, where the compost is placed in steel shelves rather than in bags or blocks. This enables mechanical handling, thus significantly reducing labour requirements. A total of 20 Dutch Shelf Farms were set up last year.
Mr Walsh said growers need to be selling a minimum of 4,500 kgs (10,000 lb) of mushrooms a week to be viable and to be in a position to withstand economic and market shocks. Five years ago, a weekly output of 2,250 kgs was a viable level of production.
He said one of the more significant features in recent years was the emergence of Polish mushrooms on the EU market. Polish labour costs are around one-third those in Ireland, which gives them a significant marketing advantage.
"Poland is now a major supplier of mushrooms to the German market. This has led to Dutch exporters switching back to the British market, leading to pressure for Irish exports," said Mr Walsh.
"The fact that Irish mushrooms have developed a high reputation in the major British supermarkets gives us a strong advantage in the current difficult marketing environment."