Desperate asparagus farmers: "I'd rather not harvest my asparagus before I sell it off"
Created: 2022-06-07 10:43 am
By: Patricia Huber
The asparagus becomes a slow seller.
Inflation and competition from abroad are troubling German farmers - some even have to give up their harvest.
Munich – The asparagus season has been a real highlight for many Germans every year.
But this year it's different.
Because the asparagus farmers are sometimes left with their goods.
But why?
Asparagus season: Inflation affects sales
High inflation is likely to be largely to blame for this.
Because the prices for fuel and food have risen so much, many people seem to be doing without the luxury of asparagus.
This is also confirmed by Farmers' President Joachim Rulwied
.
"People are hesitant, the decrease is restrained," he says.
But there is another problem.
As with strawberries, foreign imports are also putting pressure on prices for asparagus.
In some supermarkets you can now buy 500 grams of asparagus for 2.99 euros, reports the
picture
.
"
You put it on there.
The result is that individual farms have already removed some areas from the harvest because it doesn't pay off," explains Rulwied.
Asparagus: The farmer does not harvest his vegetables - because the prices are too low
Rolf Meinhardt did the same thing.
He is an asparagus farmer in southern Hesse and simply gives up a third of his harvest.
More than 60 tons of asparagus are not taken out of the ground, he tells the
picture.
"It's just not worth it.
Before I sell my asparagus to discounters, I'd rather not harvest it," he says.
He has already sent his harvest workers home.
But he's not the only one.
In his area alone, four companies would have given up asparagus production this year.
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Meinhardt is annoyed by the behavior of German consumers: "Anyone who wants regional products from Germany must be aware of the production costs.
However, this 'cheap is cool' attitude of many customers makes things difficult for us.”
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The situation is likely to get even worse in the coming year.
Because the Bundestag recently decided that the minimum wage will rise to twelve euros in October.
A blessing for the harvest workers - but the asparagus prices will probably continue to rise.
(ph)