First greenhouse asparagus harvested at Aspergebedrijf Nooyens

“Supply still relatively limited, but demand for the first asparagus is always strong”

Since last week, the first greenhouse asparagus have been available at Aspergebedrijf Nooyens. “Things are looking good at the moment. In the greenhouse, they always do, because you are far less sensitive to weather fluctuations than outdoors. In general, volumes are still relatively limited, but for us, there is already plenty available,” says Fons Nooyens of the cultivation company in Poppel, Flanders.

Jan and Fons Nooyens

The fourth generation is now active on the farm. In the early years, grandfather Jan Nooyens started a horticultural business where he and his wife grew lettuce, gherkins, and strawberries. Later, Fons and his wife took over the business. They decided to continue growing strawberries and also added tomatoes. This expansion required an increase in greenhouse area. “In 2010, together with my son Jan, I decided to switch to growing asparagus. That is how this branch of the business developed, about 16 years ago. We started with 1.5 hectares of greenhouse cultivation and 3 hectares of outdoor cultivation. Since then, the outdoor cultivation area has expanded to about 30 hectares, while the greenhouse area remains at 1.5 hectares.”

All Lidl branches
Supply is therefore still fairly limited, but demand, he notes, always remains high at the start of the season. “When there is virtually nothing on the market, demand is obviously strong, and prices are high. However, that is not really what matters to people in those first weeks. Everyone is simply happy that they are available again. We are not the first with asparagus, but at the moment we are one of the largest suppliers in Belgium.”

In addition to supplying BelOrta, the company also sells asparagus in its own farm shop and delivers directly to retailers. “We have our own sorting and packaging facilities, which allow us to supply everything ourselves in the desired packaging. However, many supermarkets have not yet started purchasing. At the moment, our asparagus is already available in some Delhaize stores, but once the larger volumes arrive, we will mainly supply Lidl. During the season, we supply asparagus to all 315 stores in Belgium.”

Nice volumes at Easter
“It is good to see the asparagus season starting again,” Fons confirms. “Volumes remain relatively limited at the beginning until the outdoor season really gets underway. The first outdoor volumes will become available around 15 March, after which supply increases rapidly, and by Easter it should be at its peak. Because we grow in the greenhouse, we can manage supply to some extent, which works very well. That allows us to ensure optimal volumes are available before Easter to meet demand.”

Whether it will also be a good season is something he does not yet want to predict. “It depends heavily on the weather, of course. The weather is beautiful now, but it could just as easily snow at this time of year. A lot can change in a few weeks. If severe weather arrives tomorrow, everything could turn around. The asparagus season lasts about four months. Every year, you have three weeks when asparagus are very expensive, and then three weeks when they are far too cheap. Small changes in volume can affect the asparagus market very quickly, so we will simply have to wait and see. In any case, our first greenhouse volumes taste very good.”

Watch RTV’s report on Aspergebedrijf Nooyens here.

For more information:
Aspergebedrijf Nooyens
Tulderheyde 6 / 11
2382 Poppel, Belgium
asperges.nooyens@gmail.com
www.aspergebedrijfnooyens.be

Franc Goertz expands asparagus cultivation against the trend:

“We still need to ensure sufficient asparagus for supermarkets and other customers”

At Goertz Asperges in Maria Hoop, preparations for the asparagus season are in full swing. “We now have two-thirds of our acreage under black foil. Around 20 March, we expect to harvest the first asparagus. The rest of the acreage will follow later in the season, for harvest in April,” says Franc Goertz, who has been growing asparagus on the sandy soils of Limburg since 1987.

New sorting location for asparagus under construction

Against the trend, he has chosen to expand his asparagus acreage again this year. “We didn’t do it last year, but we are going to make up for it now. We still have to ensure that we have enough product left for the supermarkets and other customers,” the grower states. He expects a reasonably good harvest this season. “Last year, production was low, but last summer was reasonably good. However, we do see that many plots have not yet recovered from the flooding two years ago.”

“We see that it is not easy to maintain sufficient acreage in the Netherlands. Many small growers are stopping, and larger growers are no longer expanding as quickly, so the total area continues to decline slightly. There are several reasons for this. A number of growers do not have access to enough fresh land. In addition, it is not easy for everyone to secure sufficient staff, and there is a group of older growers who do not have a successor,” Franc continues.

Sweet potatoes
Goertz is also expanding sweet potato cultivation again this year. “We are now supplying the last sweet potatoes of the season, but we would eventually like to move towards year-round production. We see enough demand from supermarkets, as well as from retail and farm shops. Demand increases slightly every year. Next year, we hope to deliver through until July.”

While Goertz initially grew sweet potatoes in two rows per bed, the plants are now grown on a small potato ridge. “We believe the plants warm up faster and deliver a higher yield,” says Franc. “Every year, the quality of Dutch sweet potatoes improves. It has to, because I want to be able to compare the product with the American ones; after all, these are the very best available on the market.”

Franc with his family

For Goertz’s third crop, blueberries, he has no plans to expand. “We are maintaining our plantation, but not increasing it. Last year, the harvest and price of blueberries were good, but it is and remains a difficult crop because it is so easy to transport. You can ship blueberries over long distances, and they can be supplied more cheaply from abroad. Our main crop remains asparagus, sweet potatoes are a product on the rise alongside it, and we are keeping blueberries stable.”

For more information:
Franc Goertz
Goertz Asperges BV
Veestraat 20
6105 AB Maria Hoop
info@goertzasperges.nl
www.goertzasperges.nl

Jacques Guironnet, ASPA2

The first French asparagus are already available!

Every January, Aspa2 marks the start of the French asparagus season. Based in Indre-et-Loire, the company is one of the very first to market asparagus in France, kicking off a campaign that is eagerly awaited by market operators. This year’s harvest began on January 12th, under conditions that were deemed particularly satisfactory, both agronomically and commercially.

“Good sizes and quality” right from the start
“We have good quantities and, above all, very good sizes for the start of the season,” explains a delighted Jacques Guironnet, the company’s managing director. Quality is once again at the heart of Aspa2’s priorities, with a product that fully meets the market standards. “We have a very white product, as we always strive to do. This is a very important criterion for us.”

Although the last few weeks have been marked by cold weather, this has not penalized production; quite the contrary. “On the one hand, our underground heating system protects us from the cold temperatures. In addition, we had some good vegetation this year, which enabled us to build up reserves in the autumn. It also explains the good sizes we have.” For a number of years, Aspa2 has relied on high-performance heating networks, enabling it to achieve remarkable earliness while ensuring regular production. A decisive advantage that explains its ability to reach the market well before spring.

An exceptional niche and a market to match
In terms of marketing, the arrival of the very first French asparagus is always a big hit. “Customers are very happy to see the arrival of asparagus. It signals an early spring and, in the middle of winter, that is very good news.” In France, Aspa2 works mainly with wholesalers, but also generates a significant proportion of sales in exports, particularly to Asia, several European countries, and North America.

Being the first on the market is a definite advantage, even if this positioning corresponds to a very specific niche. “It is a production reserved for exceptional circuits,” admits the director. In terms of price, initial feedback has been satisfactory. “In a rather gloomy economic climate for many sectors, we are fortunate to be positioned in this particular niche.” On the strength of this momentum, Aspa2 is aiming to keep the campaign going right up to Easter, a key period for asparagus consumption. “We are enjoying good regularity in production, thanks to our fairly exceptional environmental conditions. So far, everything has been very positive, and we hope that the season will continue in this vein.”

For more information:
Jacques Guironnet
ASPA2
Phone: +33 (0)2 47 58 95 93
info@aspa2.fr
www.aspa2.fr

Cristina Albuquerque, from Danper (Peru):

“Asparagus supply has been increasingly limited in recent years”

Peru’s 2025 fresh green asparagus season is drawing to a close. “We have succeeded in managing the supply for most of the year, aligning our production to the seasonality of our main target markets,” says Cristina Albuquerque, commercial director for Danper’s fresh and frozen categories.

“This season, with our three categories combined, we are expecting to export around 10,000 tons of asparagus, 80% of which corresponds to fresh produce and the other 20% to canned and frozen,” says Albuquerque. The UC157 remains the predominant variety in the company’s fields, but looking ahead, there’s also ongoing research into the behavior of new varieties.

There has been a gradual recovery after recent climatic phenomena, such as El Niño and Yaku. “After these phenomena, we have been working already in the years 2023-2024, and the company has been making a considerable effort at both an agricultural and quality technical level to be able to recover the plantations,” says the director. Although yields have not yet reached previous levels, agronomic management and technological innovation have enabled significant progress to be made.

“We are mainly shipping to Europe and the United States,” says Albuquerque, who also highlights the growing presence in markets such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, and France. The main competitor is Mexico and, to a lesser extent, the seasonal European productions. “When there is production from Mexico, we focus on giving due maintenance to our fields and packing facilities, as well as making sure to meet our commitments in canning and freezing,” she says.

Green asparagus is highly perishable, which means that air shipments are essential if you want certain calibers to reach the markets with the right quality. However, dependence on air freight means higher costs and logistical challenges. “Asparagus is still a product that is heavily dependent on air shipments because it is quite perishable,” says Albuquerque. Still, Danper has remained committed to the use of sea freight to Europe and the UK, thus contributing to reducing the carbon footprint and improving the sustainability of the logistics chain.

There’s a clear downward trend in supply in the global asparagus market, while demand remains strong, especially in segments that value nutritious food products managed under systems that ensure fair treatment and sustainability. “Looking at the volumes of the main producers, such as Peru or Mexico, asparagus supply has been increasingly limited in recent years. Prices have fallen by 10% compared to the previous season, influenced by the pressure of logistical costs and competition from other crops,” says the commercial director.

In the fields, Danper has opted for the implementation of advanced technologies to optimize production and be ready to face the challenges of climate change. “We are focused on digital transformation in the framework of our agricultural and industrial operations, so we have developed precision agriculture tools that allow us to be more efficient and resilient,” says Albuquerque. These technologies facilitate data-driven decision-making, improving irrigation management, pest control, and crop management.

“We are the only agribusiness company in Latin America with the Zero Waste standard awarded by SGS Spain, in addition to certifications such as GLOBALG.A.P., LEAF, SPRING, ISO 14001, and ISO 14064-1, among others. We have also been awarded the Carbon Footprint Peru seal by the Ministry of the Environment for our significant efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” she says.

For more information:
Cristina Albuquerque
Danper
Peru
Tel.: +51 949 711 340
calbuquerque@danper.com
https://danper.com/