"Chinese asparagus market is rapidly expanding"

The asparagus industry in China began to develop in the late 1970's and was at first 100% export-oriented. Fast forward to 2017 and about 85% of the Chinese asparagus production volume is destined for domestic retail. The domestic market and consumer potential is huge and currently rapidly growing, but in low season and winter season the market still relies on imported asparagus to satisfy consumer demand. Asparagus are currently imported to China from Australia, Thailand, and Peru.

The growth and production volume of asparagus is influenced by such aspects as product variety, location of plantation, fertilizer and irrigation, plant diseases and insect pests, and harvest time. Many farmers in the east and south of China use greenhouses to protect the plants from high temperatures, high moisture, and strong winds, as well as plant diseases.

China is one of the few countries worldwide where the 'mother plant is left behind during harvest': some greenhouse plantations can produce three harvests per year, covering 250 days a year. This has greatly increased the asparagus production volume. China has an overall seasonal advantage in asparagus production because the asparagus plantations cover an extensive region and many latitudes.

The surface area devoted to the plantation of green asparagus has overtaken the surface area devoted to the plantation of white asparagus in recent years and left it far behind. The main reason for this development is as follows: the Chinese do not traditionally have a habit of eating white asparagus. The white asparagus that are produced in China are then processed and canned for export. Green asparagus agrees more with traditional Chinese taste.

Furthermore, the labor costs for the plantation and harvesting of green asparagus is lower than the labor cost for plantation and harvest of white asparagus. It is precisely for that reason that the surface area devoted to the plantation of green asparagus is continuously increasing. At the same time, the living standards of Chinese consumers increase. Green asparagus has become a medicinal kind of food. More and more consumers have become aware of the nutritional and medicinal value of green asparagus. They have started to show a great appreciation for green asparagus. It is therefore likely that the surface area devoted to the plantation of green asparagus in China will continue to grow, as will the consumption volume of green asparagus.