With the official launch of the British asparagus campaign and events such as Evesham’s Asparagus Festival starting each year on 23 April, there can be some trepidation as to whether there will be enough of the famously seasonal vegetable for such activities and more importantly, supermarket promotions and consumer demand.
But this year has been the exception. Many areas of the UK experienced a harvest up to four weeks early, starting in mid- to late March and drumming up consumer support along the way.
High light levels, mild weather and consistent sunshine during the harvest has made this a perfect start to the asparagus season.
Perfect timing
“We have a record amount in the field because of the weather,” reports Darren Hedges, manager of Revills Farm Shop, which supplies the multiples with Worcestershire-grown asparagus. “Obviously, we could do with some rain and without it, the crop could possibly slow down before the end of the season. The farm shop’s customers have been really excited and surprised that the season is early and we’ve been selling bits and pieces since March, which have come from our tunnels or under closhes which were not used for as long as usual because of the fine weather.”
The holiday vibe in the UK has helped boost sales, with Easter falling late, two back-to-back four-day weeks combining with the royal wedding and warmer than usual weather for this time of year. This has seen an increase in demand for British seasonal produce.
Substantial outdoor crop started making its way into the multiples two weeks earlier than usual, with retailers bringing forward promotional activities to deal with “unprecedented” volumes. “The outdoor maincrop is absolutely storming, which you wouldn’t expect for this time of year,” says John Chinn of major Herefordshire-based asparagus grower Cobrey Farms, which supplies both UK multiples and wholesalers. “We only needed the polytunnels on the fields for two weeks, so they came off very early, in the last week of March. The weather has been super, promotions have been brought forward early and the well-timed holidays have brought extra demand. It’s a great story this year.”
Helping hands
By last week, supermarkets were stocking nearly 100 per cent British asparagus and promotional offers included Tesco’s WIGIG (When It’s Gone It’s Gone) for a 200g bunch at £1 and M&S’s half-price offer. This has meant that growers have continued to make money for their efforts. “It’s all good, as our harvest is much bigger than we budgeted and there is absolutely loads of asparagus,” says Chinn. “There is no use in high prices that no one will buy at just to throw the product away. Because of the size of the harvest, promotion is essential. Retailers have brought it all forward and we have the orders to match, as well as imported product being stopped short.”
Chris Kitchen, the British Asparagus Growers’ Association’s (AGA) spokesperson and owner of Lincolnshire-based grower Kitchen Garden Produce, says that this is the earliest supermarkets have been able to stock 100 per cent British product on their shelves. “All retailers had some crop available in early April but then the outdoor season got underway and commercial volumes have been way ahead of when growers would usually expect the flush to occur,” he says. “The outdoor season is now firmly established, with growers all over the country cutting their outdoor crops.
“The season has got underway very strongly, with plenty of availability to satisfy retailer and consumer demand. It is still too early to predict the final yield as a cold snap could slow the crop down; the cooler weather last week has stopped the prolific growth of the previous week and the weekend. Last year’s total yield as recorded by the AGA was 5,900 tonnes.”
Quid pro quo
But in general, are asparagus producers still achieving good returns? Is the marketplace in danger of flooding with produce? The AGA has analysed the cost increases incurred by British asparagus growers in producing the 2011 crop. This has shown a total increase of 4.25 per cent but this calculation does not take into account increases in energy costs since the beginning of 2011. “Some would say that returns to growers have not kept pace with increases in costs,” says Kitchen. “This may affect investment in new asparagus beds, meaning that future production may struggle to meet demand.”
Breeder Hargreaves Plants’ commercial director Jamie Petchell believes it is still possible to achieve good returns from asparagus and notes that the industry still attracts a small number of new growers each year. This year is the earliest the company has ever started to harvest its asparagus trials, on 6 April - a week earlier than the previous record. “With any product that is as seasonal as asparagus, it can very much depend on the weather and retailer promotions,” he explains. “The industry has been overly reliant on one single cultivar. As a result, and even with certain geographical spread, we have seen huge peaks and troughs in production and therefore supply. Now two newer varieties, Mondeo and Guelph Millennium, have helped significantly with this and the production curve has become more even. The annual PR campaign has also had a real benefit by helping to increase consumption overall.”
Green domination
So what’s next for the British asparagus industry? With household penetration of green asparagus at around 16 per cent, there is still a long way to go. But different coloured asparagus, in particular purple product, is appearing on our shelves.
There is a small amount of purple asparagus being produced in the UK, but no commercial production of white asparagus at all.
“The industry still has a long way to go to get more people to eat green asparagus - four in five people in the UK do not buy the product,” says Petchell. “Purple asparagus offers many benefits but needs a different method of marketing; it offers a very sweet and tender eating experience as a raw product. It is ideal in mixed salads for example. Purple asparagus has real potential to become more popular as the overall market for asparagus grows. In a similar way, white asparagus is a completely separate product line. I know it has been tried in the UK by several retailers in the past but has never been a true success. There might be an opportunity for further market segmentation in the future, but I think there is a long way to go for our green product first. There should be a great opportunity for UK green asparagus to be exported in the coming years and changing traditionally white asparagus consumers to green.”
But for now, UK asparagus growers are celebrating what looks to be a first for the industry. “This season is great news - for growers, for consumers and the industry,” continues Chinn. “There is lots of it, it’s flavoursome, very affordable and fantastic quality. The only thing I’d say is: enjoy it while it lasts. Because of the lack of rain and the good weather, any volume may not last past May. The season may finish early.”
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