Navarra's white asparagus season is currently at its peak with excellent prices, as both those for fresh consumption and for the processing industry are 0.20 Euro more expensive than last season in France and Spain. Asparagus are expected to finish the campaign at around 1.90 to 2.00 Euro/kg.
Fresh asparagus of the RIBECOOP brand
"The truth is that asparagus consumption at the moment is quite high, and considering that production volumes this year were lower, it is not possible to meet all demand," explains Juan Miguel Artazcoz, Director of the fruit and vegetables department of Grupo AN.
Peeled asparagus and fresh asparagus of the Dantza brand
The current good prices make up for the bad start of the campaign, as due to this year's frequent rains, the harvest was delayed for over a month, as instead of starting on 15 March, as usual, the harvest began on 20 April. This allowed French, German and Dutch asparagus to arrive first into the market.
Canned asparagus of the Dantza brand
"This year has been unusually rainy, considering that here, in Navarra, 920 litres per square metre have fallen in 5 months; the same amount that would usually fall during an entire rainy year," he affirms. "If there is too much moisture in the soil, asparagus cannot be planted, because otherwise, as soon as it becomes dry, it hardens and the plants cannot sprout. We had to wait for a month until the soil was dry enough," adds Juan Miguel Artazcoz.
Peeled and vacuum-packed asparagus
It continues to rain intermittently every week and temperatures remain unusually low for this time of the year, with maximum and minimum temperatures of 15º and 7º Celsius respectively.
Artichokes, an uncertain future
One week before the end of the white Tudela artichoke harvest season, Juan Miguel Artazcoz thinks that it has been good in terms of quality and production volumes, as no frosts have damaged the crop; however, prices have not been so positive, lower than last season and in a downward trend.
This is not due to falling levels of consumption of the fresh product, which are still the same, but to a stall in the processing industry's consumption, leading to saturation in the fresh market.
"Artichoke prices keep falling because the industry is purchasing smaller volumes. We must take into consideration that the artichoke sector has survived so far thanks to the processing industry, which absorbs 80% of the production, especially in Murcia. The future for the crop does consequently not look good, as growers reduce the acreage every year due to its low profitability."
Tudela artichokes
About Grupo AN
Based in Tudela, in the Spanish province of Navarra, Grupo AN has created a network of leading firms within each of their sectors (fruit and vegetables, cereal, poultry, pigs, wine, oil, fodder, agricultural supplies, hardware, etc.).
The fruit and vegetables section's goal is to produce and sell Tudela's production, mainly represented by Navarra's asparagus and the PGI Artichoke from Tudela in terms of vegetables and by Golden apples and Conference pears in terms of fruit.
"Our objective is to increase asparagus production volumes and promote their consumption, both fresh and canned, as we own a canning plant and we can tackle both markets. When prices are high we can sell more fresh asparagus, and if they fall, we can rely more on canned products. We strongly believe in this product and its future," he affirms.
With a turnover of 10 million Euro from fresh consumption and 20 million from the processing industry, Grupo AN is confident of its future growth, which is currently focused on cereals, due to the upward trend in their prices.
For more information:
Juan Miguel Artazcoz
Grupo AN – Centro Hortofrutícola.
Ctra Corella, km. 3. Tudela, Navarra. Spain.
T: +34 948826212
[email protected]
www.grupoan.com
