Where are asparagus producing areas? An introduction to the latest main producing regions

Asparagus originated on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean and in Asia Minor. To this day, wild species still exist in the grasslands and river valleys of Europe, the Asian continent, and North Africa. It has a cultivation history of more than 2000 years. It was introduced to the Americas in the 17th century, to Japan in the 18th century, and to China in the early 20th century. It is cultivated in countries around the world, with the United States having the most.

Asparagus cultivation in China began in the Qing Dynasty, with a history of only more than 100 years. It was scattered in the suburbs of major coastal cities and sold fresh locally. In the 1950s and 1960s, asparagus exports from Taiwan, China increased year by year. By the 1980s, vegetable exports from Taiwan, China held a pivotal position in total material exports, and asparagus exports ranked first among vegetables. In 1980, Taiwan, China exported 76,400 tons of canned asparagus, while frozen vegetables were only 61,500 tons. Canned asparagus exports from Taiwan, China accounted for more than 70% of world trade. After the 1980s, because the quality of asparagus from Taiwan, China was not good, the economic benefits of growing asparagus were somewhat neglected. As a result, the planting area declined year by year. By 1987, canned asparagus exports were only 12,100 tons, decreasing at an annual rate of 23.1%. As a result, asparagus became in short supply on the international market. Starting in 1984, this situation prompted Fujian, Henan, Shaanxi, Anhui, Sichuan, Tianjin and other places in China to develop asparagus production on a large scale. By the early 1990s, the national cultivation area reached more than 66,000 hectares, and annual canned production exceeded 80,000 tons, making it one of China's main vegetable products for earning foreign exchange through exports. Among these, Shandong Province is the main base for asparagus production, and its annual export of canned asparagus accounts for about 1/3 of the national total export volume, occupying a pivotal position in the country's asparagus production and exports. China's asparagus is mainly sold to the United States, Japan, European countries and other countries as well as Hong Kong, China.

According to statistics from the early 1980s, world canned asparagus production was 200,000 tons, with import and export trade volumes each around 90,000 tons. China and Spain were the main exporting countries, accounting for 80%-90% of world exports. The main importing countries were Western European countries such as Germany and France. Countries such as the United States and Japan gradually reduced production because of the low economic benefits of canned asparagus production. In the future, the dominant players in the world asparagus trade will be China and Spain. With China's sound ecological environment and the development of the domestic market, a major expansion of asparagus production is certain. To date, asparagus is still a major foreign-exchange-earning vegetable in China, but in the domestic market it is still a relatively rare and specialty vegetable with relatively low sales.

Now Caoxian County, Heze City, Shandong Province, China is known as the “Hometown of Asparagus.” A grand asparagus festival is held every spring.