In Ukraine, the start of the season of asparagus will shift due to the cold spring this year.
“The asparagus season in 2020 in Ukraine began in mid-April, but in 2021 the first relatively large batches of it will be available on the Ukrainian market only by the beginning of May,” says Tetiana Ivchenko, researcher at the Institute of Vegetable and Melon Growing of the NAAS and an expert of the asparagus market.
There are now only small wholesale and retail lots of asparagus from small producers on the Ukrainian market. In this case, the prices for asparagus fluctuate within 200-300 UAH/kg ($ 7-11/kg), and it is still mainly distributed directly to consumers. The main sales season in supermarket chains and HoReCa enterprises will begin in just a few days.
“There is already a significant increase in demand for asparagus from restaurants and wholesalers, who got used to offering it to consumers at this time of the year. It confirms the fact that asparagus has already gained quite high popularity among Ukrainian buyers, and producers will have active demand in the current season,” Tetiana Ivchenko also told east-fruit.com.