Luciano Trentini has been elected as the new president of Euroasper, the European asparagus association, for the next three years.

Mr Trentini, director of Italian marketing and research organisation CSO and also vice-president of European producers' assembly Areflh, takes over from current Euroasper president Patrick Aumede of France.

Based in Avignon, the association brings together all of the major European asparagus producers including Germany, Holland, Spain, France, Italy and Greece, promoting the interests of the sector and encouraging the development of asparagus production and marketing across Europe.

'Asparagus is one of the few vegetables not to have suffered as a result of the consumption crisis,' commented Mr Trentini. 'In fact, the market is worth around €110m today, some 55 per cent higher than in the first couple of years of the millennium.'