The green asparagus harvest is going very well in the Spanish province of Granada. "We are doing much better than in recent years. 2023 and 2024 have been bad years, with severe drought that caused the asparagus spears not to have enough moisture for their development and made it impossible to have a normal harvest," says Nicolás Chica from the company Agroláchar.
"Fortunately, in 2024, we've had rains in the fall and a cold winter, which have been very beneficial; and although we have started with a bit of a delay due to the rainfall in March, we are at an optimum time for the harvest," he says.
© Agroláchar
The weather can be the worst enemy for green asparagus, but at the moment, it is being beneficial. "We currently have minimum temperatures here in Granada of around 10-11 degrees and maximum temperatures of 22 degrees, which are very good for asparagus and are allowing us to harvest shoots of extraordinary quality at this time when harvesting volumes are rising," says Nicolás.
"We are obtaining really good productions, as recognized by all the markets to which we are exporting our asparagus," he says. "72% of the green asparagus grown in Granada is consumed by clients from Central Europe and the Nordic countries, who await the start of our season every year."
© Agroláchar
"Nonetheless, although this season is going better in terms of production, there are still issues with finding laborers, a problem that applies to all agricultural sectors," says Nicolás. "There's a shortage of people to do the agricultural work, but also for the harvest. In the three months of the season going from March to June, we need workers every day so that the harvest can be carried out and managed in the handling centers so that it can be marketed; but this lack of workers is becoming an increasingly bigger problem and, given this situation, I know that companies are trying to find a way to mechanize the harvest to reduce the need for personnel."
"Despite this, it's good news that prices so far are good. For us, Easter and the days leading up to it are a very good period because there is high demand for green asparagus, and now we are already in the run-up with very good price levels. From then until the end of the season, prices will drop, but we hope that the weather conditions will be good enough for us to be able to prolong the season for as long as possible with very good quality asparagus, and that we'll be able to sell as much of the product as possible."
For more information:
Agroláchar S.C.A.
Av. Andalucía, s/n
18327, Láchar, Granada, Spain
Tel.: +34 692 043 375
comercial@agrolachar.com
https://agrolachar.com/