“During the season asparagus is a big product for us. We see that demand remained stable in previous years, from Germany as well, where we have firm asparagus customers,” Smets says. The wholesaler buys the asparagus at ZON and The Greenery auctions. He expects the season to meander on a bit in coming weeks. “Traditionally volumes decrease a little from week 22.”
According to Smets the asparagus are of very good quality this year. He is an advocate for asparagus remaining a true seasonal product. “The season ends on 24 June, and that is a good thing. Otherwise it will become a standardised product and it will not be exclusive anymore.”
The customers of P. Smets contains retailers, catering suppliers, street traders and farm shops. The customers are all within a radius of 100 kilometers from Geelen, and are 60 per cent Dutch, 30 per cent Belgian and 10 per cent German customers.
