Asparagus auction could hit record-high sales

Buy photos » Bundles of asparagus, like these carried by Olivia Hegarty, are set to fetch record prices at the Asparagus Auction this weekend. 1711007MMR5

THIS year's world famous asparagus auction is expected to hit record breaking sales because of the shortage of the Vale's most popular vegetable.

The annual auction takes place at The Fleece Inn in Bretforton on Sunday (May 27) starting at 12pm with rounds of asparagus set to hit as high as the £50 mark.

Awful weather and constant showers has resulted in a significant shortage of asparagus this year which forced one of the British Asparagus Festival's flagship events to be cancelled earlier this month.

Because of the shortage, world-wide interest in asparagus is now bigger than ever before and the auction could see phone bids from as far field as America and a bigger influx of buyers are expected to pack into the pub ready to bid.

Colin Jelfs, auctioneer at the event, said: "In a normal year, we expect to see sell 30 rounds of asparagus at around £6 to £25 each. But this year asparagus is difficult to get hold of so we're anticipating sales to reach record levels of potentially £50 a round."

Many of the celebrations planned for the launch event will take place on the day including the crowning of the King of Asparagus which was revived in last year's festival after a long gap.

Vistors will also be able to browse the many stalls selling a host of asparagus goodies and enjoy cookery demonstrations on the day.

For more information about the event visit www.britishasparagusfestival.org.

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