After a temporary delay due to spring frost, the May to mid-June Ontario asparagus harvest is underway in eastern Canada. Farmers hope for dry weather to help with the reaping and for lower production in competing eastern U.S., to boost prices. 

This season could be a repeat of the 2023 season that started on a low price note but ended strongly. As the season progressed, prices in Ontario soon climbed to $2.34 per pound, the highest since 2020. 

For now, the price outlook is secondary to a frost-free harvest for southern Ontario farmers. Asparagus is a food crop that thrives in warm conditions and spears wilt when spring night temperatures go below 5º Celsius.

According to Bob Kerr of Kerr Farms in Chatham-Kent, Ont., frost can be harmful. Kerr told CTV Canada on May 8, 2024 that currently there was no frost forecast to worry about. 

Promoting the Ontario Asparagus Harvest in the U.S.

During the two-month asparagus harvest in Ontario, offshore agents from the Caribbean and Mexico usually come and trade the crop.

These agents carry the produce across the border to eastern United States where wholesalers await their orders with quotations.

Canadian suppliers will be lucky this season if New Jersey in northeast U.S. will have weak supplies. NJ is the third biggest asparagus-producing American state and its crop had a value of $12.5 million in 2023.  Its season starts roughly at the same time as Ontario’s and therefore has a huge effect on supply and demand.

Price Performance Since 2019

Whichever way the NJ season impacts the Canadian rates, it is noteworthy that Ontario has been enjoying impressive prices lately.

According to Canada’s government data, the price climbed to C$1.99 ($1.45) per pound in 2019 and has held ever since.

2020 recorded the highest price to date for Ontario’s asparagus at C$2.38 ($1.73) a pound. The price dipped in 2021 and 2022 to C$2.14 and C$2.16 ($1.56-1.57) respectively before it picked in 2023 at C$2.34 ($1.70).

One of the factors that affect the remuneration in Ontario include concurrent production in other states such as British Columbia. 

Ultimately, the Ontario asparagus niche has grown into a big industry in terms of land expansion. The area under asparagus in the state crossed the 4,000-hectare mark in 2022 for the first time since 1987. Asparagus acreage in 2023 stood at its highest ever, at 4,310 hectares and it keeps growing.