In Switzerland, the Danube asparagus season started in week 13. In the last week of March, the first two shipments from Hungary arrived at the Zurich wholesale market. By the end of the campaign - probably at the beginning of June - Zurich will receive three shipments a week. And despite the increasing competition in the international asparagus market, a steady decrease in the purchase of goods is guaranteed every year so far, according to the direct importer Würsch AG.
Asparagus campaign in the starting blocks
The product is mainly produced in Hungary, but it is also coming from its neigbor Slovakia. At the moment, sales are still relatively 
slow. "The asparagus market in Switzerland is just in the starting blocks, which is why the goods are marketed at relatively high prices. Current availability is very good; actually it is too good at this stage of the season," says Erwin Suter, Managing Director of Würsch AG.
For more than 20 years, the wholesaler - together with another company in Switzerland - has been involved in importing asparagus from the Danube region. "Whether the demand has really increased, is difficult to judge. The market itself, however, has grown significantly: certainly in Germany it has grown a lot. Swiss goods are also available, they are now coming onto the market slowly," says Suter.
Both conventional and organic Danube asparagus are traded. Green asparagus, on the other hand, is not coming from the Danube region, "as this market can already be covered by domestic yields," says Suter. The campaign usually ends by the beginning of June, parallel to the domestic harvest.
Ice-cooled goods
According to Suter, there is a clientele for both domestic and Danube asparagus. "Our asparagus is primarily ice-cooled. This means that the goods are cooled down immediately after being harvested. They have a very high degree of humidity or remain fresh for longer. Compared to normal domestic asparagus, this is one step up with regard to quality. However, conservative Swiss people prefer domestic goods - at least in the retail sector."
Even with local asparagus still to come and events being characterized by imported goods, the competition is clearly noticeable. Suter: "A large part of our goods ends up in the restaurant business. The question remains what people would like to spend on good asparagus, as currently there are even cheaper goods, from Spain, for example."
For more information:Würsch Obsthandel AG
GF: Erwin Suter
Engrosmarkt Zürich
Aargauerstrasse 1a
T: +41 44 272 01 12
+41 44 271 66 55
info@wuerschag.ch
www.wuerschag.ch