Higher prices than 2014, but lower profits

"Overall, we believe that this years profit is about 15 percent lower than 2014," says Simon Schumacher, "For one, we had a later start to the season and less sun. The storm at the end of March damaged the fields. We lost a lot of heat due to the damaged or loose asparagus plastic."

Our consumers enjoyed the quality this season, explains Simon Schumacher. "We were spoiled by a steady growth," said the managing director of the VSSE, "The harvesters brought in the asparagus and we had little or no quality problems. These occur when we have large temperature fluctuations. This was not the case. This season will be remembered by the beautiful quality, good varieties and a nice flavour. "

The long dry spell that affected almost the entire country’s farming in recent weeks, had relatively little influence on the asparagus farms, explains Schumacher. "Thanks to agricultural technology we have an optimal water balance. And the evaporation protection that asparagus plastic offers plays an important role."

"The prices were on a similar level compared to last year," said Schumacher, "maybe even a little higher. At the beginning of the season the price was relatively stable, in May wholesale the price dropped under the average of the last two years." These factors influence Schumachers expectation that the average consumer price in 2015 will be approximately six Euro.

The industry had to cope with a wage increase of around 20 percent due to the recent legal minimum wage laws. "The wages increased, and unfortunately we could not adjust our prices accordingly," says Simon Schumacher, "The price adjustment in direct marketing, have been readily accepted by the customers. The regular customers acknowledged the quality and freshness.” Schumacher describes further that in the supermarkets the supply and demand influenced the price. "Price-sensitive consumers shop in supermarkets. And there the price could not be adjusted to compensate for the increased costs caused by the minimum wage. "

Schumacher thinks that in the future the farmers will continue to invest in equipment, which will increase the yield. "More kilos must be harvested in less time," he explains, " Investments in techniques that make earlier harvesting possible and that increase the yield, have increased." As a result of the minimum wage especially older harvesters will no longer be employed, according to the Schumacher, "Age plays a role here," he explains, "At a certain age you can no longer harvest the amount of asparagus, which is required to make a profit. This concerns us, at a human level. "In the future, believes Simon Schumacher, smaller businesses will suffer especially from the effects of the minimum wage. "The problems will grow under the increased labour costs and they will have a hard time to find successors for the farm."