Queensland family mushroom farm shuts down after sustained $10,000 weekly losses

SjW Mushrooms, a family-owned operation on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, will pack its final boxes next week as owners Joanne and Steve Willemse end a more-than-four-decade enterprise. The couple said the farm now loses about $10,000 per one outlet, despite attempts to downsize and sell assets. Their mushrooms, sold to IGA supermarkets and numerous fruit shops, have become less viable as input costs have surged while retail prices have barely moved over twenty years, a trend worsened by the Iran war.

National mushroom output has slipped 12 percent to 52,784 tonnes, with consumer purchases down 7 percent, according to the Australian Horticulture Statistics Handbook. Staff numbers have fallen from 65 to 15, and the closure forces the Willemse children to seek other work. Industry representatives, including Adam Forbes of The Produce Partner and AUSVEG’s Andrew MacDonald, warned the loss will reduce local choice and raise prices for chefs and consumers.