The green asparagus season has started this week in Granada with the first sales. Volumes are currently limited in a market dominated mainly by Mexico, although a larger Spanish supply is expected in the coming weeks compared to the same period last year.
"We have already started selling the first asparagus on both the domestic and the export market, although, for the time being, volumes are small," says Antonio Francisco Zamora, Centro Sur's General Manager. "Yields in the fields are good and it seems that we will have more production from the beginning of the season than in 2024."
Although there are still some batches from Peru in the European markets, the Mexican supply is currently the most abundant, despite a 25-30% drop in the production volume compared to last year. Centro Sur also gets some supply from Mexico, as well as from Peru, and is actually the main importer of this origin, with around 3 million kilos annually. These are imported during the off-season for Granada's asparagus, of which they produce around 7.5 million kilos.
"The first Spanish asparagus arrived in limited quantities, so prices are quite high. They are eagerly awaited by those clients who are committed to European and local produce with a lower carbon footprint," says Zamora. "From mid-March, a significant supply of Spanish produce is expected that will make it possible to offer continuity to all customers."
However, asparagus growers in Granada are finding it increasingly difficult to find workers for the harvest. This has become one of the sector's main concerns.
"Almost the entire Spanish agricultural sector seems to be affected by this problem. Asparagus is still a small sector and isn't yet highly mechanized, although attempts have been made to implement technology already used in white asparagus in other European countries," says Antonio F. Zamora.
"We have looked into possible solutions to facilitate the arrival of workers, either from other areas of the country or from abroad. It will be necessary to simplify the formalities and make administrative procedures more flexible so that more workers can be incorporated in an efficient manner. Subsidies should also be compatible with temporary contracts, so that these may become more attractive to workers. This is something that was already done during the pandemic," says the general director of Centro Sur.
For more information:
Antonio Francisco Zamora
Centro Sur, S.C.A
Tel.: +34 958332020
[email protected]
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