Since the nineties and up until two seasons ago, the disappearance of asparagus farms has been constant in the Spanish region of La Rioja. Many still remember the white gold boom of the last decade of the 20th century, when up to around 2,400 hectares of this precious product were cultivated. Back then, the region was producing 7,226 tonnes of asparagus a year; a figure far higher than today.
The reduction of the acreage lasted until 2013, when only 28 hectares were grown. The crop seemed to hit rock bottom that year and has since seen a slight recovery. According to data from the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics, the acreage in 2014 rebounded slightly to 38 hectares and in 2015 the figure has grown to 65 hectares. "The price of asparagus imported from Peru or China was very similar to the domestic one and consumers started buying our asparagus again, so more people have been encouraged to grow them," explains Salva García, of the cooperative El Raso, who confirms that La Rioja's asparagus production has increased over the last three years. "Now we must wait for producers to behave well when it comes to prices, because otherwise, people will abandon it again," he states, while explaining that it is a very delicate product.
Delayed by cold temperatures
The first asparagus should already have been growing, but the cold and rain of recent weeks have prevented it. "It is very cold these days; Tuesday there was even frost on the fields," explained sources from the cooperative.
This drop in temperatures right at the start of spring has caused the harvest to be delayed by at least a couple of weeks compared to the usual dates. "I fear that we won't have any asparagus at least until April," said the grower.
Source: larioja.com
