Pentecost brought hardly any increased demand for asparagus this year. This is the conclusion that asparagus seller Rick Mengers, from ZON fruit & vegetables, has come to. "There is not too much going on on the market. Supply is now at the average of what it has been in other years, only the late variety kilos are clearly behind. Overall, it is a pretty flat season."
"Demand is quite wide. France was later than usual, but it's starting to come in, and things are moving along nicely in the domestic market. The quality of the asparagus is very high, but we have had barely any warm weather so far. In regards to keeping the price where it is, the weather is ideal, because supply and demand are nicely in balance. That is harder to do when the weather warms up and you get a whole lot at once."
Right now the price for the double-A asparagus is around 3.50 Euro. "A reasonable price for this time of the year," says Mengers. "The growers with the early crop have done very well this year. Within a week and a half the 'tunnel crops' will be done, but supply of the late varieties, which grew very slowly, will stay for a few more weeks."