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Market gardening: Expansion of land and bumper crop
In 2008 nearly 11,000 German agricultural enterprises grew vegetables on an area almost as large as 118,000 ha. The latest findings of the 2008 General Market Gardening Census of the Federal Bureau of Statistics has shown, that, compared to the previous census conducted in 2004, the number of enterprises has decreased at a rate of 6%, while the crop acreage used for the growing of vegetables has risen at a rate of 5% or 6,000 ha. The continuous expansion of market gardening is also reflected in the 2008 harvesting of vegetables. With its 6% increase compared to the harvesting year of 2004, the rise has not been as tremendous as that of crop acreage. However, with 3.4 million tons, this vegetable crop was the largest ever since the unification of Eastern and Western Germany.
Significant increases in the crop acreages in 2008, as opposed to 2004, took place in the growing acreage of asparagus, with nearly 21,600 ha (of which 84% were made in harvesting alone). In 2009, the crop acreage stood roughly at 22,000 ha.

Other than the preceding years, with its 92,700 tons, asparagus accounted for excellent harvesting results.

During the last decade, the German market for asparagus has seen a tremendous dynamic. And this is true for the domestic cultivation in Germany as well as for the consumption. Since 1992, the German area in production has increased at more than 50 percent, while consumption of fresh produce has risen at 20 percent. The shrinking imports were counterbalanced by an increase in domestic production. Each German eats annually about 1.1 kg of fresh asparagus, which amounts to between 85 and 90 thousand tons. A growing share of it – in 2000 alone 60 percent – is provided by domestic production.
During the last years, 44,000 tons of asparagus were imported on average, but in 2000, imports slipped below the 40,000 mark, as the harvesting of domestic asparagus proved particularly productive. Merely 24,000 tons were imported in 2007. The key importers were Greece, Spain and the Netherlands. Spanish asparagus is imported almost exclusively before the harvesting in Germany while Greek imports overlap with the asparagus season in Germany.

Nearly all German federal states cultivate asparagus. With more than 25 percent of the area of production, Lower Saxony is the leading state for growing asparagus, followed by North Rhine-Westphalia and Hesse with 13 percent each. Other significant states are Brandenburg, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. German federal states with high asparagus harvesting rates also consume more than other states. This is due to the distribution channels for fresh asparagus, as more than 25 percent of it is purchased by German consumers directly at the producer. With regard to the overall German production, this figure reaches 45 percent, and Lower Saxony has an even greater share of it. You would not have such a proportion in other types of produce. Therefore, asparagus is obviously a product that lures consumers to the countryside. Though the significance of large discount stores is still negligible (20 percent of the overall turnover), but is constantly increasing. The remaining share (approx. 35 percent) is accounted for by farmer’s markets and trade booths. Besides its consumption at home, asparagus is widely used in gastronomy. There are presently some indications that if compared to home cooking, the out-of-home intake of asparagus is on the rise.

Other than most produce, fresh asparagus has maintained its position as a seasonal product. When seen over the last decade, the off-season consumption of asparagus, that is, during autumn and winter, does not even scratch the 2 percent mark of the overall amount and has not risen significantly.