Currently, Spain markets its green asparagus in European supermarkets and fruit and vegetable shops and it is beginning to export them to new non-EU destinations such as Saudi Arabia and the Middle East.
Currently, 60% of the production is sold abroad - especially in Germany, Switzerland, and France - and the remaining 40% in Spain.
On October 2, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food published in the BOE the recognition of the Spanish Green Asparagus Interbranch Organization.
Its president, Antonio Zamora, told Efeagro that the Peruvian and Chinese asparagus is sold at much more aggressive prices.
The Spanish green asparagus is neither better nor worse, it's different," he said. "Its flavor differs from the imported product because the of the weather conditions and the thermal difference between day and night where it is planted confers it with a greater amount of sugar, flavor, aroma, color, fiber, and a different texture."
Andalusia -in particular the areas of the Vega of the Genil River and that of the Caves of the Field of the province of Granada- is the main producing area in Spain, accounting for nearly 6,200 hectares of the almost 9,000 hectares of green asparagus plantations there are in the country.
Its production also extends through the provinces of Malaga, Guadalajara, Jaen, Cordoba, Cadiz, Toledo, Caceres, Badajoz, Albacete, Alicante, Murcia, and Madrid.
The green asparagus campaign, which began several weeks late, is now in its midpoint and the president of the interbranch organization forecast that this year the country will produce nearly 44,000 tons of green asparagus, i.e. a thousand more than in 2021.
So far, and in the absence of the final figures, the campaign is okay because prices are above production costs but lower than last year, which was a good or very good season.
"The cost of fertilizers, packaging, transport and electricity has increased. Producers are bearing a large part of this increase with the consequent cut in their margins," he said.
The interbranch organization has already contacted the MAPA to ensure that green asparagus can be exported to the United States as is already the case with white asparagus.
This organization also wants to boost its incipient shipments to the Middle East and Asia, which were paralyzed during the past two years due to the COVID-19 crisis and the consequent rise in airfares, and they also want to ship their product to Japan.
Source: efeagro.com