Summer has arrived at the German wholesale business. The last spring products are going out of stock and summer fruits and vegetables are the order of the day. The asparagus season also came to an official close yesterday and the first balance sheets are positive.
"It's the final countdown for asparagus," says Mike Cunningham from Kartoffel Kuhn, based at the Mannheim wholesale market. "For many, the season ended early, so the fine vegetables were already out of the assortment in many places last week. We will probably have sufficient volumes this week, next week we will definitely be finished."
The asparagus season went very well this year - thanks to Corona? "The market volumes were perfect this year. After many years of surplus, it was finally what it should be." Due to the shortage of labour, many growers just let part of their fields sprout, only harvesting part of the plants. The additional resting period will have a positive effect on next year's produce, Cunningham expects.
Increased sales in private consumption also played into the hands of asparagus: "Consumers went on holiday or went out less often and were more likely to treat themselves at home. They cooked more, healthier and more varied food and were therefore more inclined to eat asparagus.
A current highlight in the Kartoffel Kuhn product range are German cherries from the Palatinate and Lake Constance. "The cherries are a standard product at this time of year, but we were worried about this year's harvest due to frost damage. But so far we are not seeing any signs of this." Some producers had suffered from the frost and some plots were badly damaged.
"At the moment there are still enough goods available and the quality is excellent. The cherries are priced between 6 and 8€ per kilo - depending on the size. 28-30mm are available in large quantities. Market traders prefer larger calibres, but these are a rarity this year," Cunningham concludes.
For more information:
Michael Cunningham 
Kartoffel Kuhn Großmarkt GmbH
Gottlieb-Daimler-Straße 14
68165 Mannheim
T: +49 621 4450930
M: grossmarkt@kartoffel-kuhn.de
W: www.kartoffel-kuhn.de/