Francisco Delgado, Manager of Los Gallombares, stated that the worst may be yet to come, as the high degree of moisture after the rains could lead to rot in the short term, especially if temperatures rise.
The delays in the harvest of Spanish asparagus, as well as in other European countries due to unseasonably cold temperatures, have led to massive shortages of a product which is usually highly demanded around Easter, especially in Central and Northern Europe. Prices reached up to 20 Euro per kilo. "During Easter, there were only asparagus from Mexico and some from Peru," affirms Francisco Delgado.
Despite all this, at the moment 30% of the production, both in Spain and in the export markets, is already being commercialised. "The market started moving a few days ago with a notorious increase in demand thanks to the promotions from European supermarket chains," he points out. Prices are no longer as high, around 2 Euro per kilo for the producers, which is acceptable for them.
Based in the Spanish province of Granada, Spain's largest asparagus producer with 80% of the total, the Los Gallombares cooperative is devoted to the production, processing and trading of green asparagus, with the commitment to supply this fresh product all year long.
During the off-season, from June to January, the firm imports Peruvian asparagus, and later, from January to March, imports arrive from Mexico. "The asparagus from those countries is of a great quality; however, due to the hydro cooling treatment that they go through, they lose some organoleptic qualities and are unable to equal the intense flavour of Spanish asparagus," explains Francisco Delgado.
Besides Spain, the European market is the main destination for Los Gallombares' asparagus, with a presence in countries such as Switzerland, France, Germany, Denmark, England or Austria. "France used to be our main export market, but little by little the spot was taken by Germany, which currently is the strongest market in terms of agricultural imports."
Under the brands La Joya and Luxe, asparagus are packed in wooden and cardboard boxes in bunches of 300, 400 or 500 grams, or even up to a kilo. In Germany, for example, they prefer boxes with eight 500 gram bunches of calibre 12-10.
