Asparagus prices climb due to cold Easter weather

According BLE (Federal Office for Agriculture and Food) newsletter KW 14/2015 business during the Easter period didn’t go as planned due to the cold weather. The weather led to lower asparagus volumes than expected. Many asparagus farmers also had troubles with the after effects of the storm at 31 March.

Small quantities and high prices
The small amounts asparagus grown in heated beds could not satisfy the customer demands, even if the supply gradually increased towards the end of the week. As a result, the asparagus prices increased daily. White asparagus went for an average of 24 Euros per kilogram, while the purple varieties cost about 20 Euros. On average, one could expect to pay around 17.54 Euros per kilo for German asparagus.

Green asparagus available only in small amounts
Green asparagus from southern Europe only reached major German markets in limited quantities. Due to these small quantities prices rose rapidly. Green asparagus from Spain cost on average around 7.62 Euros per kilo. While last week the price was 6.67 Euros. Green asparagus from Peru increased the supply only slightly. However even the high prices could not lower asparagus demand for Easter.

Source: www.ble.de