"We have been harvesting and distributing green asparagus for a week, mainly for the domestic market, and will soon start with the first exports, since the first asparagus are not always the best, but as the harvest progresses, quality will also improve," explains a producer and exporter based in Granada.
"Right now, we're distributing between ten thousand and twelve thousand kilos of asparagus per day, although the bulk of the production is expected for April," continues the exporter. "We would have liked to start earlier with the harvest, to be able to sell the largest possible volume before Easter, since by that time demand significantly increases and very high prices can be achieved if the campaign is at a sufficiently advanced stage," he points out.
However, this year Spanish asparagus will enter the export market with a great advantage over the Mexican product, its main competitor right now. Besides the fact that the dollar has appreciated against the Euro, this year Mexico has suffered a significant drop in production, of almost 50%. This has resulted in a significant increase in prices, since half of its contingent is exported to the United States and the supply available for Europe and Japan is limited. It is worth noting that the situation is the complete opposite to last year's, when this country's campaign was marked by oversupply.
Furthermore, the lower volume from Mexico is also accompanied by a lack of availability of thicker calibres, and European consumers demand mainly the Extra-Large and Jumbo sizes.