Asparagus farmers under pressure: significantly smaller harvest expected

The years of growth in asparagus cultivation are apparently over: also because of the difficulties due to the corona crisis, experts expect a significantly smaller harvest.

According to estimates by the agrarmarkt-informationsgesellschaft (AMI) in bonn, this year’s harvest could be around 30 percent lower than last year’s. In 2019, 122 asparagus and berry growers nationwide.000 tons harvested. That was already eight percent less harvest than in the record year 2018.

The decrease of the harvest quantity corresponds approximately to the portion of the catering trade at the asparagus sales. Because inns and restaurants had closed by mid-may due to the corona ordinances, sales to catering customers fell away completely during this period, said AMI expert michael koch. Private households were happy to purchase asparagus.

The past few years had already been economically difficult, said the managing director of the association of asparagus and berry growers in lower saxony, fred eickhorst. Some asparagus farms are on the brink of extinction.

The problem of finding enough harvesters predates the travel restrictions imposed by the corona pandemic, eickhorst said. The drought of the past two years has also had an impact on companies. This year, he said, it has become particularly expensive to get the harvest workers. The farms had to pay for the flight costs, and the expenses for the accommodations had also increased significantly due to the corona hygiene requirements. "Due to corona, the costs for the farms have risen considerably."

After a high price level at the beginning of the domestic harvest, when the price per kilo for end consumers was on average up to 40 percent above the previous year’s level, the price has now settled at about the same level as last year, according to AMI. In ascension week, the average price was 6.86 euros for a kilo of first-grade white asparagus. In direct sales, asparagus is usually more expensive: whoever buys the noble vegetable from the farmer, sometimes has to pay 12 euros per kilo for good goods, said AMI expert koch.

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