During Easter asparagus was on the menu for a lot of people. Supermarkets had the white gold on promotion, and the consumers didn't have to pay much for this lovely product. Traders wre not happy with this development. A Belgian trader says: " It is good and not good. The demand is good and we are happy that there is a large volume being delivered. There is just nothing being earned by the trade, because retailers are selling at low prices."
Almost all markets in Belgium (and the Netherlands) are selling asparagus on offer this week. "In Belgium they sold for 2.98 to 3.49 Euro per half kilo. If they are sold so cheap that pushes the auction prices up again. Last Friday the 'bare' sale price was 4 Euro per half kilo. There is no supermarket that will sell asparagus at this price."
Strained
According to him it is worse this year than other years. "It really is a strained market. For the market it is difficult to understand. If you are a small retailer you have to pay, you will have to sell at minimum 4.99 to 5.99 Euro per half kilo. For trade this puts pressure on the price. The buyers for the supermarkets are all tense. They must have enough in stock, but are not willing to pay much for it. They try to limit the loss and press the traders to deliver cheaper. Not a good development. The only one who gains is the consumer and maybe also a producer that sells at auction. Had the Supermarkets not acted so, the the selling price would have been lower."