The pound sterling is taking a bit of a hammering lately o the foreign exchange markets. The British pound has continued its sharp decline against the Euro, reaching a new record low of 1.1238 euros on Thursday 11th December.
As of December 26th it was 1.04326.
The news may be great for Southern shoppers heading North to find some Christmas bargains, but the stronger Euro is causing a great deal of head scratching for exporters from the South into their biggest market across the water in GB. Mushroom growers are finding it tough to compete on price when the Euro is so strong.
Stalker has heard rumours of big movements in the mushroom sector in the south, with an apparent 50% stake of the Irish Tesco business moving into Monaghan hands. The tighter exchange rate is seen as the biggest factor in such a move if confirmed.
You can also be sure that when a big player snatches up such a large chunk of the indigenous market that a lot of smaller suppliers will feel the effects. There’s sure to be grumblings.
And there was the warning in November from Thomas Martin, newly installed chief executive of the Irish Commercial Mushroom Producers’ Co-operative (CMP), the trade body representing some 90 per cent of the Republic’s growers. The crunch will come after Christmas, he predicted, when producers “will have to decide if it makes financial sense to carry on when you’re already losing money”.
With the currency differential increasing since then , will it be decision time for CMP members come the New Year, or even sooner?
