SARL Bigoud, based in Brittany, finished its asparagus harvest on May 15th. It was a good year, thanks to reasonable prices throughout the season, but still not as good as last year. "We started at the beginning of March, a week late, and had lower yields overall than in other years because of the cold, which slowed asparagus growth," explains Karel Kaptein, manager of SARL Bigoud.
However, production peaked at Easter. "It was the only time of the season when we had big shoots. In order to sell volumes, we ran promotional actions and lowered prices to €6 [6.84 USD] for the 22+ sizes, which were abundant this year. It is a winning strategy. Sales remained brisk, even though prices are always harder to recover afterwards. For the other 12-16 and 16-22 sizes, sold in bundles, we stayed at around 8 euros [9.12 USD] until the end of the season.
Although prices remained stable and consistent, they were not able to compensate for the lack of volumes this year. Today, alongside leeks, sand carrots, and flower bulbs, SARL Bigoud grows asparagus on 20 hectares. This production area could be doubled by the company's future buyer, as Karel Kaptein plans to sell his business this year.
For more information:
Karel Kaptein
SARL Bigoud génération
[email protected]