Harvest season 2019

According to the expert, this season has been successful for a few asparagus producers in Ukraine, as there has been an increase in interest in this crop. Compared to the previous year, the cost of asparagus has slightly decreased, but its profitability has remained high.

To a large extent this happened due to the expansion of sown areas, thoughtful marketing and the establishment of distribution channels.

More significant this season was the competition in the domestic market. Restaurants in Ukraine impose increasingly stringent requirements on products that must be not only fresh, attractive and chilled correctly, but also safe for humans.

Some small producers could not grow asparagus of the proper quality, which is explained by an elementary lack of knowledge about culture, lack of motivation to study and ignoring the advice of specialists, the expert expressed confidence.

Tatyana Ivchenko sees prospects in the export of asparagus, which may begin in the near future. Farmers of Ukraine carefully select planting material and are interested in species that could provide a crop that fully meets international requirements.

The expert said that to operate with such information, it is necessary to test genotypes in the climatic conditions of Ukraine. For this purpose, a testing ground for testing promising asparagus hybrids of the best selection companies will be created at the Institute of Vegetable and Melon Growing of the NAAS.