For more than two weeks, green asparagus from Spain has been struggling to find a place on French supermarket shelves.
According to several French operators marketing asparagus in France, sales of Spanish green asparagus have been "very difficult." Some French retailers "refuse to open lines for fear of reprisal." This reluctance could be explained by the agricultural movements of recent weeks, during which certain distributors have been targeted. On the eve of the International Agricultural Show in Paris, 8 French retail directors wrote an open letter to the FNSEA president to show their support for the agricultural sector. "As leaders of France's supermarket chains, we wish to clearly and collectively reaffirm our deep attachment to our agriculture, to the food sovereignty of our countries, and to the fair remuneration of our producers."
According to one trader, this is "completely absurd" since the full season for French asparagus has not even started yet, and is therefore "not subject to competition from the Spanish product."
Abnormally low prices
"It is still cold for production, which is lowering yields and should maintain prices." While some operators have lowered prices to find other distribution channels in the face of reluctance on the part of certain retailers, others have decided to "maintain their price at 3.50€ [3.80 USD] a bunch, and not 2.50€ [2.70 USD] a bunch as for the imported asparagus still on the market."