White asparagus has good export potential

Press, 16 July 1982, Page 18

White asparagus has good export potential

Several New Zealand asparagus growers intend exSrimenting with white anched) asparagus as a possible export crop to European countries.

White asparagus, a common sight in Continental vegetable markets during the .spring months is a popular vegetable with Europeans, but to travelling New Zealanders it is virtually tasteless.

All asparagus grown in Europe is blanched and is regarded as a seasonal luxury, although France does produce a little green asparagus. Asparagus grown in Britain is of the green type. With New Zealand able to produce asparagus in the Northern Hemisphere offseason, growers think there could be export potential for New Zealand asparagus in Europe — as long as the asparagus is white and not of the common green type. According to a Canterbury horticultural advisor with the M.A.F., Mr Lawrence Heath, producing the right colour of asparagus does not appear to pose any major

problems. Many of the new varieties of asparagus being planted in New Zealand are ideally suited to while asparagus. ’

The production of white asparagus could be an ideal crop for small landholders, said Mr Heath. On large asparagus farms the growing of white asparagus could be too labour intensive, but it could suit part-time growers. To produce white asparagus. the growing bed needs to be moulded with dirt to a height of about 30 cm, enabling the asparagus spears to grow in the dark and prevent them turning green. Harvesting takes a little longer because the picker has to find the tell tale cracks in the soil which indicates where the spears are growing.

But yields from white asparagus tend to be slightly higher than green asparagus because the spear is cut closer to the crown.

The possibility of exporting white asparagus was only one small piece of knowledge gained by seven asparagus growers, including two from the South Island, who toured asparagus farms in the United States and Europe recently. Prospects for exporting fresh green asparagus to Northern Hemisphere countries look good because asparagus was regarded as a luxury, according to Mr Heath, who accompanied the group. The United States and Japan were markets with high potential for the export of New Zealand asparagus. Harvesting of asparagus throughout the world still relies on manual labour, although in Michigan mechanical harvesters and harvesting aids such as mobile platforms are being used, said Mr Heath.

In California, where most of the asparagus is required for the fresh market, itinerant groups of people, such as Mexicans and Asians, provide most of the harvesting labour. California is the biggest asparagus growing area in the world and about 8000 ha of land is devoted to asparagus in northern California alone.

The group visited several Californian farms growing more than lOOha of asparagus and the biggest had 800 ha. Most farms grew other vegetable crops as well including tomatoes, corn, peppers and gherkins. A variety of harvesting aids are used in Michigan where most of the asparagus is used for processing. If the price of labour increased and the number of people willing to harvest were reduced, mechanical harvesting could become popular, according to Mr Heath. Mechanical harvesters were not selective and involved a variety of cutting methods,., including a sicklebar mechanism, fixed blades on sledges, and a system of chains to grip and break the spear. - ; 7 The grading, packaging and marketing aspects of asparagus in the United States and Europe are far more united ’than in New Zealand, said Mr Heath. The industry was controlled by the growers who had to comply with strict standards in quality and size. The group observed no major new methods of postharvest handling but took note of the regular consistent standards of packaging. Handling relied on manual labour and was no more advanced than in New Zealand. Germany supplements its

asparagus production with imports from Holland and France Most of the German producers were part-time farmers who found asparagus a profitable side-line.

Holland provided the ultimate example in vegetable production with efficient growers and marketing. Most produce was sold through large co-operatives which are owned by ’ the growers and have strict quality and packaging standards.

Buyers of Dutch produce at auction did not havje to inspect the goods before purchase because they were confident of the high grading standards, said Mr Heath. If produce was found to be substandard it would be re,turned to the grower. ; - To form a strong marketing base. New . Zealand growers had to set consistent, standards in quality, length and size of asparagus, which must be rigidly- enforced, said Mr Heath.

“We have got to get packaging and grading standards common to ’. every grower rather than having individual producers with many j different grades." he said.

New Zealand growers were familiar with the techniques needed for the ;successful culture of asparagus but needed to keep up to date with new varieties with higher yields, said Mr Heath.

Commercial plantings, of asparagus have increased during the last three years and now an estimated 2000 ha is devoted to the crop. In 1970 the area totalled about 1000 ha, with the bulk of the asparagus being used for processing. But this area declined during the next seven years until the recent interest in fresh asparagus.