It could soon be cheaper to import mushrooms from abroad than produce them in Monaghan.
That's according to Growing Media Ireland, which says almost 4,000 tonne of the peat was recently imported into Ireland from Latvia.
The harvesting of horticultural peat ended in Ireland in 2019 due to licencing laws, and reserves have now been exhausted.
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Horticultural peat is used in mushroom growing, a sector very strong in County Monaghan.
John Neenan from GMI says local jobs are being put at risk because importation isn't a sustainable business model.
