Once again, the measures to contain the pandemic posed a major challenge for asparagus growers. Direct marketing was no longer able to benefit as much as in 2020.
For the nearly 400 asparagus farms in Lower Saxony, for the second time in a row a turbulent season comes to an end as the asparagus harvesting traditionally stops on St. John’s Day (June 24).
As in 2020, uncertainty spread, particularly at the start of harvest, as it was not clear for a long time whether farms would be able to get the necessary harvest workers. “This year, too, some areas were therefore not harvested – although not to the same extent as in 2020,” explains asparagus expert Nils Kraushaar from the Lower Saxony Chamber of Agriculture (LWK). These unharvested areas are young plants, i.e. plants planted the previous year, Kraushaar says: “Here, one can choose to harvest them this year or to let them grow through and not harvest them until next year.” This year, many growers asked the horticultural experts at the LWK about this.
Market situation
Due to cool weather, especially low night temperatures into May, this season started much later than in the past three years, LWK reports. At the start of the season in early/mid-April, volumes were quite tight due to weather conditions. Demand was slow to get going due to the pandemic: it didn’t pick up until the holidays in early May and Mother’s Day. “At Easter, we still had too little asparagus due to the weather,” Nils Kraushaar reports.
Last year, asparagus farms were already confronted with higher production costs due to the pandemic; according to the LWK, the costs for additional accommodation, hygiene measures and higher travel costs have risen again this year. On the other hand, sales to the catering industry have almost completely collapsed. According to the producers’ estimates, 32 percent of German asparagus is normally marketed to the restaurant trade. But when the catering trade was allowed to start again this year, demand for asparagus was already quite weak. Furthermore, direct marketing could not profit as much as in 2020, but prices were still quite high compared to the years before the Corona pandemic.
According to the State Statistics Office, 26,569 tons of asparagus were harvested nationwide in 2020 (2019: 28,073 tons). With around 4,633 hectares under cultivation, asparagus is the crop with the largest area in vegetable cultivation in Lower Saxony. Every fifth German asparagus spear comes from Lower Saxony. The centers of asparagus cultivation in Lower Saxony include Diepholz, the Hanover region, Braunschweig and the Heidekreis district.
And how are asparagus doing now?
After the end of asparagus planting, the shoots are left to grow freely. Over the next three months, green and bushy plants will grow to a height of about two meters, which use the sunlight to build up energy reserves. These are stored in the roots and thus ensure the strength of the asparagus plants for the next season.
For more information:
Landwirtschaftskammer Niedersachsen
Mars-la-Tour-Straße 1 – 13
26121 Oldenburg
Tel: 0441 801-0
Fax: 0441 801-180
E-Mail: info@lwk-niedersachsen.de
Web: http://www.ml.niedersachsen.de