How much do you know about Canada's thriving mushroom industry?

Irish business Fyffes has made headlines for buying its second Canadian mushroom distributor in a year. The company paid 59.1 million Canadian dollars (£34.4 million) for All Seasons Mushrooms, one of the biggest mushroom producers in Western Canada. This acquisition follows Fyffe’s March acquisition of Highline Produce, an Ontario-based mushroom company.

Fyffe’s recent acquisitions place a spotlight on Canada’s $900 million mushroom industry. How much do we know about it?

• Canada is one of the world’s largest exporters of mushrooms
• Mushrooms are commercially grown in all Canada’s province’s (except for Saskatchewan and Newfoundland)
• Canada’s most popular mushroom is the white button, followed by Brown and Portabellas
• White and brown varieties make up 90 percent of Canada’s mushroom crop
•  Ontario produces 57 percent of mushroom crop, British Columbia produces 27 percent, the Prairies produces 12 percent and eastern Canada produces 4 percent
• Canada’s total amount of mushrooms produced is approximately 105 million kilograms.
• As a result of labour shortages and labour costs, the industry is becoming more automated. 70 percent of the Enviro Mushrooms operation is automated. Whitecrest Mushrooms is also looking at introducing robotics. 
• Canadian mushrooms are grown locally year round,
• Canadian mushroom growers abide by an on-farm food safety program based on HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points) principles

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Read the September 2016 issue of Business Review USA & Canada magazine