It will soon be asparagus time again: the precious vegetable from Baden-Württemberg is not yet available, but farmers are preparing for the new season. Before Easter, the Association of Southern German asparagus and strawberry growers expects the “first quantities” of the sticks, as spokesman for the board Simon Schumacher announced in Bruchsal (Karlsruhe district). “I think it will be a good season.”
The drought and the sun last year ensured that the plants got through the winter healthy and are now sprouting well. In addition, the sun has contributed to the asparagus developing well under the foil tunnels in recent weeks. “In April there will be relevant quantities. Then also in the supermarkets. »
The noble vegetable thrives particularly well in sandy, light soil and needs sunny locations. In Baden-Württemberg, the vegetables are mainly grown in the southern Rhine plain around Freiburg and in northern Baden between Baden-Baden and Mannheim on an area of around 2500 hectares. The acreage had shrunk in the past. A spokesman for the Ministry of Agriculture said: “It is assumed that the reduction in area will continue to a certain extent and will then lead to stabilization.” It remains to be seen to what extent the decline in production will be offset by imports.
In the south-west, asparagus grows mainly under foil or under tunnels, and in small quantities also on heated fields. The number of companies has been declining for years. If there were 314 companies in 2014, there were only 258 companies in 2022, as the association reported. According to him, 9,591.5 tons of asparagus were harvested in the southwest last year.
The price for this year’s asparagus will level off at the average of the last two years, said Schumacher. “The weather also has a big impact.” He also referred to the rising cost of energy and the higher minimum wage. He estimates that between 5,000 and 6,000 seasonal workers will be deployed in the south-west to help with the duck. The first are already there. You can’t get by without them. Although there are first prototypes of robots for harvesting. But the development is not yet so advanced that they can be used permanently.
Association of South German asparagus and strawberry growers
© dpa-infocom, dpa:230319-99-08629/2
