“End-of-season asparagus shortages are due to depleted volumes and early field exhaustion”
It’s not the first time there’s been a shortage of asparagus on the market at the end of the season. “Supply is minimal compared to demand, and for two reasons,” explains Will Teeuwen of Teboza. “First, the volumes we expected to see in weeks 22 and 23 actually arrived earlier, during the two previous weeks, resulting in slightly higher supply then. This was purely due to weather conditions. The second reason is that the late fields were more damaged than expected by last year’s rainfall. We had to pull these fields out of production early to ensure that the plants would yield sufficiently next year.”
“This volume shift and the earlier halt of fields are once again causing a volume shortfall at the end of the season, and this seems to be more of a structural issue than a one-off incident.” Teboza will continue harvesting asparagus until the end of week 26. “Given the working conditions, we’ve had a good season. Completely different from last year, when we were harvesting in muddy boots well into June. From a production standpoint, yields were slightly disappointing—but that’s the case for all growers. Prices have been good and seem to be slightly higher than last year. But we desperately need them to be. All costs, especially labor, have risen significantly. That’s why we need structurally higher prices for our product. Of course, we want asparagus to remain affordable. But we absolutely need good pricing: if we do the math, the return per kilo is lower today than it was five years ago!”
Planting in the Netherlands
Left: cultivation in Spain | Right: Teboza’s sales team
The Spanish asparagus season had a very difficult year. “Just as all the fields were ready for harvest, the rainy season began. We faced the same situation there as in the Netherlands last year, which affected two-thirds of the crop. Additionally, we had to cancel about 10–15% of the harvest due to rain. Normally, we begin planting in March–April, but the last plants were only put in the ground last week. That’s not ideal, because although asparagus loves warmth, Spanish summers can be a bit too much! Still, overall, I’m very optimistic about Spanish production in the years to come. We’ll just have to postpone our yield expectations by a year.”
Planting completed last week
Starting next year, Erwin Tillemans will become a second director in Spain. Teboza has taken over Tillemans’ neighboring company, Tilla’s BV—including 45 hectares of asparagus, a packing shed, and seasonal worker accommodations. “Erwin has been supplying us with asparagus for years. He has also visited us in Spain multiple times, and we discussed his wish to become our farm manager. Our Spanish fields are now 80 kilometers apart, which hasn’t been easy for our current manager. He will start working for us in Spain next season and will bring his own tractors with him, so he can operate using his own equipment. Overall, this is a very positive step, showing that we see many opportunities in the asparagus sector in the years ahead.”
New plantations in Spain
And the Spanish plots planted last year
For more information:
Will Teeuwen
Teboza
Tel.: +31 773071444
w.teeuwen@teboza.nl
www.teboza.com
Publication date: Thu, June 12, 2025
© FreshPlaza.fr / Izak Heijboer
