Not only is the asparagus crop earlier than usual, but consumers are also paying less than half than they did last year, the Volkskrant reported on Monday. This is largely due to new crop management techniques, the paper said.

Prices fell to €8 per kilo in recent weeks, down from €15 per kilo in traditional asparagus seasons in the Netherlands. In the past, asparagus tips began rising out of the soil if the outside temperature reached 18 degrees for some time. Until 30 years ago, this meant waiting until mid-May to see white asparagus at the greengrocers.

Will Teeuwen, owner of Teboza, one of the largest Dutch asparagus growers said the new techniques moved the beginning of the asparagus season up to March.

The café and restaurant sector is prepared to pay a good price for early asparagus, but supermarkets are not ready to sell it until mid-April. ‘There is now a surplus and this has put pressure on prices,’ he said.

The national statistics office CBS said land available for growing asparagus has increased by 70% to 3,750 hectares since 2000. Most (60%) is grown in the southern province of Limburg where some farming communities have more than 10% of their land in use for asparagus.