The 2022 asparagus season was challenging for growers. Despite good weather conditions, sufficient harvest workers and the best asparagus qualities, prices fell sharply at the beginning of the season due to restrained demand and were barely able to recover by the end of the season. For the most part, and for many weeks, producer prices were barely adequate or inadequate, especially in the retail and wholesale sectors. Only in the food service and direct marketing sectors were farms able to achieve satisfactory prices.
Uncertain economic situation slows demand for asparagus
"After the two Corona years, in which healthy vegetables such as asparagus were in high demand and direct marketing experienced a boost, this year was characterized by weak demand for asparagus. This, together with excess quantities due to weather conditions and imports, led to a sharp drop in prices right at the start, which hit growers hard, particularly due to the extreme increase in production costs. Looking ahead to the coming season, we urgently call for relief for the farms by reducing bureaucracy and freezing the minimum wage at 12 euros in order to safeguard domestic production," says Simon Schumacher, spokesman for the board of the Southern German Asparagus and Strawberry Growers Association (VSSE).
Average consumer prices below those of the previous year
Only briefly at the beginning and end of the season was the average asparagus price above the previous year's level, due to the scarce quantity. Otherwise, it was far lower than the previous year.
"Economic uncertainty among consumers was the main reason for the difficult course of the asparagus season: fewer consumers bought asparagus less frequently and in smaller quantities. The buyer range is below the multi-year average. Asparagus prices were under pressure for a long time. Only at and after Whitsun did the situation ease somewhat. Then asparagus was in demand and prices slowly picked up again," Michael Koch, head of the horticulture division and asparagus market expert at Agrarmarkt Informations-Gesellschaft (AMI) sums up.
Scarce asparagus supply in June leads to price increase
"Towards the end of the asparagus season, more normality returned to purchasing behavior. However, this could no longer save the season, as large quantities were no longer available. Due to low demand, many asparagus plants were taken out of the harvest in May. In June, there was a shortage of asparagus, which was probably due to the lower yield potential of the plants that remained in production. This was almost certainly due to the mild winter, as a result of which the plants sprouted less in the spring. The longer recovery phase of the asparagus plants taken out of harvest earlier will have a positive effect on the coming asparagus season," explains asparagus cultivation consultant Dr. Ludger Aldenhoff.
For more information:
www.vsse.de