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German asparagus 40 percent more expensive than a year ago

DPA/The Local
DPA/The Local - [email protected]
German asparagus 40 percent more expensive than a year ago
Photo: DPA

In late April last year consumers in Germany paid significantly less for asparagus than what they have to pay now.

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With the start of the asparagus harvesting season having kicked off in mid-April, the current price of the vegetable is €9.97 per kilogram, according to recent surveys conducted by the Agricultural Market Information Company (AMI).

This is around 40 percent more than a year ago, when the average cost of the venerable vegetable was €7.11 per kilogram, according to the AMI.

But last year the asparagus season began extraordinarily early. At the beginning of the asparagus season, prices are usually higher and then eventually drop as supply increases and demand decreases.

By the end of April 2017, the price of the Edelgemüse, or “the noble vegetable,” had already fallen sharply due to an early start to the season.

Around 1,800 farms throughout Germany cultivated asparagus on an area of roughly 23,000 hectares last year. The largest growing region is Lower Saxony, followed by North Rhine-Westphalia.

Last week's warm and sunny weather gave the harvest a boost, said Fred Eickhorst, Managing Director of the Association of Asparagus Growers in Lower Saxony.

Spargelsaison in Germany traditionally lasts until June 24th on Johannistag, or Saint John's Eve.

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