The Spanish Green Asparagus Interprofessional Organization, which represents and advocates for the sector’s interests nationwide, held its general assembly on March 5 at the Granada Chamber of Commerce. The meeting focused on reviewing the achievements of 2024 and planning projects and strategies for 2025, particularly for the upcoming harvest season.
Representatives from various sectoral entities attended the event, including:
- Association of Cooperatives of Granada
- Agri-food Cooperatives of Andalucía-Granada
- UPA, COAG, and ASAJA
- Green Asparagus Association of Guadalajara
- APROA, ASOCIAFRUIT, ES Andalucía
- Regulatory Council of the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) Huétor Tájar Asparagus
Additionally, Antonio Zamora, president of the Interprofessional Organization and the Centro Sur Cooperative of Huétor Tájar (Granada), led the discussions.
Regarding the start of the harvest, Zamora announced that production is expected to increase by 10-15% compared to last year, reaching around 60 million kilos. However, final figures will depend on weather conditions and crop concentration.
Labor Shortage Challenges
During the general assembly, labor shortages were identified as a major challenge for this season. Antonio Zamora expressed concern within the sector and emphasized that efforts are underway to attract workers from other parts of Spain and abroad, in collaboration with government institutions.
Technical conference: Future of the sector
- Following the assembly, the technical conference “Future of Interprofessional Organizations and Green Asparagus” took place.
- Former European Parliament member Clara Aguilera presented “The EU’s Vision on the Future of Agriculture.”
- Antonio Hernández and Jesús Román from AILIMPO (Lemon Interprofessional Organization) shared their “Success Story.”
The event concluded with remarks from José Antonio Montilla, the Deputy Government Delegate in Granada, who highlighted Granada’s leadership in green asparagus production.
- Granada: Spain’s Leading Asparagus Producer
- Spain cultivates over 10,000 hectares of green asparagus, with Granada leading the sector.
- Granada accounts for 6,500 hectares, with an expected 35-million-kilo harvest this year.
- The province represents 65% of Spain’s green asparagus acreage and 60% of national production.
The Green Asparagus Interprofessional Organization represents 96% of the sector’s production and 90% of commercialized volume, allowing it to streamline industry needs nationwide. This strengthens product positioning, commercialization, and value chain balance.
The interprofessional integrates thousands of farmers, producers, marketers, and associations, mainly cooperatives located in Andalusian provinces such as Granada, Málaga, Seville, Cádiz, Jaén, and Córdoba, as well as other asparagus-producing regions like Castilla-La Mancha (notably Guadalajara) and Extremadura.
