British asparagus growers have overcome difficult weather to post a 24% increase in volume sales. The Asparagus Growers Association praised the multiples for their support during the short April to May growing season. Speaking at the AGA's annual sales post-mortem, James Hallett, a commercial director at Mack Multiples, said growers had done well to overcome the cold snap in mid-May. The £40,000 industry-backed promotional campaign had been a success, he said. The latest market data showed the market grew 19.3% compared with 2006 to hit £17.2m [TNS, 12 w/e 17 June]. Penetration into UK households increased by two percentage points to 14.3%. That equates to a 16% increase in the number of consumers purchasing asparagus. The amount spent per trip has risen 3% to £2.02. Planted areas, however, are only increasing by about 10% per year and take three years to start producing crops.

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