As a poor asparagus season in Granada continues, experts now say that only 30 per cent of the expected harvest is likely to be obtained this year.
This reduced harvest, which is the result of bad weather conditions, combined with increasing demand means that asparagus prices in Spain have sky-rocketed.
Because Easter arrived very early this year, there were not enough supplies of asparagus in the region for the holiday, which made prices rise above €7 in some markets.
Germán Rodríguez, spokesperson of Cooperativa San Isidro in Loja, Granada, explained to FreshPlaza.es, "The cold arrived quite late this year, therefore in January and February, the plants were already producing.
"At the end of February, the frost destroyed all of the asparagus growing and production was delayed."
He added that there is very little produce available at the moment, and that this is likely to go on for the next week.
Italy’s asparagus supplies were not affected by the poor weather, Rodríguez noted, but added that its production alone is not enough to fill the deficit left by Spain’s bad harvest.
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Gabriela Guédez. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
