At the asparagus market, the signals are currently green. "The weather is looking good, demand is strong, and volumes are increasing. This is exactly what we want," says Will Teeuwen of Teboza, clearly satisfied. The asparagus is currently coming from the mini tunnels until Easter. "The quality of the asparagus is much better than last year, when we had an extremely wet first half of the year. You can also clearly see that the asparagus has experienced more cold, which has had a positive effect on the thickness of the spears."
Will has no concerns about demand in the coming period. "But that's perhaps just part of the asparagus business these days—there are ongoing shortages, and there simply aren't enough asparagus in northern Europe to fully meet demand. Last week, I was more concerned about whether we could serve our customers properly, but that seems less of a worry now. Tuesday is traditionally the quietest day, but I expect prices to rise from tomorrow until Easter, and that will likely mirror the growth in asparagus volumes."
Left: cultivation in Spain, right: sales team Teboza
"I feel optimistic about the months ahead. Retail action requests keep coming in, and I expect that even if temperatures rise a little more quickly, sales will continue steadily. At the start of the season, prices were very high, but still—and I notice this from the home sales at our asparagus vending machine—people clearly still want to eat asparagus, whether they cost 15 or 20 euros," says the grower.
"Moreover, we're also seeing that supply from southern Europe is still limited. Spain is entering production a bit later due to the very wet weather conditions. The weather there is still changeable and relatively cold for this time of year. So, the European supply of green asparagus is not overwhelming. Greek asparagus did reach the market early, but even there, it has now turned cold and wet."
For more information:
Will Teeuwen
Teboza
Zandberg 14b
5988 NW Helden
Tel: +31 (0) 77 307 1444
w.teeuwen@teboza.nl
www.teboza.com