The start of the asparagus season is always something to look forward to. Restaurants, in particular, like to showcase the first asparagus on their menus. This makes it a busy time for catering wholesalers such as Flemish Square Melon. "Volumes are still limited, but we're now delivering every day. You can tell there's always immediate interest," says Pasquino De Vuyst, the wholesaler based in Zelzate.
So, spring has genuinely started again at Square Melon. "Actually, February was already a good month for us, so we can't complain, but now things are really picking up," he explains. "Our first grower has now started full production of asparagus. Last week was still a bit tricky, but now it's gaining momentum. Demand for peeled asparagus is also increasing nicely. You can tell that cost-conscious restaurants haven't completely loosened the purse strings, but plenty are eager to showcase the first asparagus and are willing to pay for it. So we really can't complain about demand at the moment."
Does this also mean prices are falling? "No, not yet. Prices are still hovering around 20 euros. Today, they even reached 22 euros per kilo at the auction, so high prices will continue for a while. Even though asparagus is becoming more available, overall supply is still fairly limited. This morning it was just 3 degrees, which means a lot of heating is still needed. Our grower told me that the volumes available in recent days were mainly thanks to last week's warmer spell. Now, with the colder weather, volumes are expected to drop again toward the end of the week."
Pasquino De Vuyst
So it's a matter of waiting for the larger volumes from outdoor crops. But for Pasquino, that doesn't need to happen too soon. "We always do very well when volumes are still limited. My two regular growers have early asparagus and supply it directly to me. What's left then goes to the auction. That creates a very comfortable situation for me at the moment, because I always have enough, and I can also play around a bit with pricing. If it's cheaper in the Netherlands than in Belgium, I can sell to Belgian customers who would otherwise go to the auction. Only when the larger volumes arrive and price differences between the Netherlands and Belgium start to level out that you lose some of that flexibility. So I wouldn't mind if things stay limited for a little while longer."
"Besides asparagus, we're also seeing strong demand for wild garlic, which we import directly. Additionally, winter vegetables continue to sell surprisingly well. We've never sold forest mushrooms this late in the season. It may be a limited volume, but they're still selling. We've also started with fresh morels from China, which are always in high demand. Yes, we're keeping ourselves busy. We certainly have nothing to complain about," Pasquino concludes.
For more information:
Pasquino De Vuyst
Square Melon
Bij Sint-Jacobs 20/23
9000 Gent, Belgium
Tel: +32 (0) 9 223 34 16
info@square-melon.be
www.square-melon.be