Asparagus: The first batches arrived in the Munich market

The first Greek asparagus of this season arrived in the wholesale market of Munich from the number one productive area in Pella, while from the second large cultivation area, Kavala, the harvest has been left behind due to the cold and wet weather.

“At the moment, these are the first batches of Greek cultivation,” points out in the freshplaza sector site, Mr. Thio Hadjivassiliadis, specialized importer and CEO of Hans Kuffer Ltd, based in the wholesale market of Munich. “How the market will develop in terms of price is difficult to assess at this time,” he said, stressing that the picture will be clearer in the coming weeks.

It should be noted that within two days of harvest, the Greek vegetables arrive in Munich, from where they are delivered to the customer on the same day.

In addition, Hadjivassiliadis is quite confident about the upcoming campaign: “Italy is already present in the market with the first batches and is expanding its market share every year. But I still do not see any threat to Greek asparagus because, unlike Greece, a significant portion of Italian asparagus is sold on the domestic market. Greek producers are still mainly committed to exports, although consumers there are now slowly becoming acquainted with the noble vegetable.”

Due to the mainly mild winter, the early start of the season for German asparagus can not be ruled out, estimates Mr. Hadjivassiliadis. “This is probably of interest to us, especially because Greek asparagus has an optimal price-performance ratio and is up to 20% below German asparagus in sales, depending on quality and circumference. “Especially in March and April, the consumption of Greek products has increased significantly in recent years, which in turn is due to the improved quality of asparagus,” he notes.