The presence of domestic offerings, as well as interest, fluctuated throughout the week. However, despite more difficult and reduced domestic cultivation, Holy Week ended quite satisfactorily, also due to the increasing number of sunny days. The trade mostly got the hoped-for momentum only in the second half of the week, according to the latest.BLE-Marktbericht.
DBV: 'Consumer prefers domestic and regional goods'
"Asparagus and spring simply belong together - and with rising temperatures around Easter, the vegetables and also the desire for the first fresh, German asparagus are growing," says Joachim Rukwied, president of the German Farmers' Association (DBV).
Because of the cool weather, the 2023 asparagus season will start slightly later than in previous years. But the German asparagus farmers are in the starting blocks, in the south the first have already begun to prick. Asparagus is more than 80 percent self-sufficient - higher than any other vegetable. The import share is low. "This shows that asparagus lovers prefer above all domestic and regional produce."
No surprise to Joachim Rukwied either: "The best asparagus comes from Germany and preferably fresh and directly from the farmer." In order to increase the degree of self-sufficiency for other fruits and vegetables as well, the farmer president is calling for origin labeling for processed products as well. "We need clear origin labeling so that the consumer, regardless of the product, can immediately see where the cheap goods in the discounter come from, even on packaging, jars or canned goods."
Asparagus is grown on around 23,000 hectares in Germany, and 110,300 tons of the vegetable were harvested last year. This makes asparagus the No. 1 open-air vegetable in Germany in terms of area under cultivation. The asparagus season traditionally ends on St. John's Day, June 24.
Brandenburg: Start of the Beelitz asparagus harvest
Brandenburg's asparagus farmers are hoping for a slightly better harvest than last year. "The omens look good. The winter was quite good for asparagus. Now we hope that the weather will play along in the next few weeks," the president of the state farmers' association, Henrik Wendorff, told RBB-Inforadio on Tuesday at the official start of the season in Brandenburg.
Wendorff assumes prices between 9 to 15 euros per kilo. Last year, 18,700 tons of asparagus were harvested. This put Brandenburg in third place nationwide after Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia, according to figures from the Federal Statistical Office.
Asparagus farmers in North Rhine-Westphalia under mighty pressure
"Everyone in the industry is nervous: many farmers are afraid of buying behavior," said asparagus farmer Ludwig Hengemann in an interview with wa.de. His asparagus farm in Everswinkel in the north of North Rhine-Westphalia did well last year, which was still significantly affected by the Corona pandemic. However, this is mainly due to the good cooperation with the local gastronomy. At the start of the season, the price of asparagus in NRW is between eight and 17 euros per kilogram. In the main season, the price is expected to be between six and 14 euros, depending on the quality class. In NRW, the price is therefore average. In other German states, asparagus prices are still often high at the start of the season.
Baden-Württemberg: Good qualities characterize start of season
"The sun's rays at Easter warmed up the soil nicely, which is why the asparagus is sprouting," asparagus and strawberry producer Otmar Böser told Baden TV happily, pointing to the pleasing qualities of the early asparagus. Nevertheless, he expanded his farm a few years ago to include other fruit crops, such as cherries and pears. "Thus, we want to minimize the risks in cultivation."
Asparagus harvest in Lower Saxony picks up speed
Despite all the circumstances, Lower Saxony's asparagus growers are starting this year's season in a fairly positive mood, according to the Lower Saxony Chamber of Agriculture (LWK). On the one hand, this is due to the good weather conditions: the strong cold spell in winter contributed to an even and good start to the harvest. On the other hand, consumer sentiment is slowly improving again.
Many farms are also still feeling the additional costs caused by the corona pandemic, as they have invested considerable sums in their farm infrastructure. It can therefore be assumed that the area under cultivation will continue to decline.
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: Area reduction of up to 30 percent
Rudolf Denissen from Wöbbelin was the first in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania to start the season. Overall, there will be less asparagus from MV this year than in previous years. Some asparagus farmers have reduced their acreage by up to 30 percent. "Last year we got a real damper," if the customer then eats asparagus only once a week instead of twice a week, then of course we have to react," Denissen tells NDR.
Bavaria: Is the market moving towards plastic-free asparagus cultivation?
Field films have long been standard in vegetable cultivation. They speed up the harvest and boost business. Nevertheless, there are already individual farms in Bavaria that refuse to use plastic. The Rehm asparagus farm in Linden also experimented with field films many years ago and covered four of its 20 fields. "The result was madness," Christine Rehm recalls in an interview with the Süddeutschen Zeitung.
"There was more asparagus on the four fields than on the other 16 combined." But the enthusiasm lasted only until the rehearsal dinner: The foil asparagus had tasted "watery and bland," with only the head showing the typical flavor. "Flavor needs time to develop," the 61-year-old believes. As a member of the "Slow Food" initiative, her farm has dispensed with the aid to this day. Also because she finds that the many plastic sheets disfigure the landscape.
Hesse: Sustainable film management comes to the fore
Sustainable film management is also increasingly becoming an issue in the state of Hesse. In response to a question from FR, the Hessian Ministry of the Environment says it is working with farmers as part of the plastic avoidance strategy to "reuse film as much as possible and then recycle it completely." Translated, this means a voluntary commitment by the farms. The Asparagus South Hesse working group is cooperating with the "Harvest Plastics Recycling Germany" ("Erntekunststoffe Recycling Deutschland") initiative.
Bumpy start to Saxony's asparagus harvest
The asparagus harvest in Saxony is getting off to a slow start. In Kyhna (near Wiedemar), it has already been possible to harvest asparagus. Nieschütz asparagus from the Elbe Valley is still waiting. "Asparagus grows at soil temperatures of twelve degrees and above. At the moment, the soil temperatures with us are at eleven degrees. We just have to be patient," said René Heidig from the Agrar GbR Naundörfel to Tag24.