Alpine Fresh sees opportunities for asparagus growth

Overview of asparagus from Peru in the U.S. market, complemented by charts from Agronometrics. Original published on September 13, 2024.

For the past several years, Peruvian asparagus acreage has not been increasing as some growers have switched to other crops. But Alpine Fresh CEO Walter Yager believes that a solid season plus the elimination of the mandatory fumigation requirement on U.S. asparagus imports from Peru could prove to be a renaissance for the commodity.

“For about 50 percent of the year, Peru produces better quality asparagus than Mexico,” he said. “If you eliminate fumigation, Peru will be able to provide better quality for nine months of the year.”

The addition of a USDA-sanctioned systems protocol for approving asparagus from the South American country is not a pipe dream. The Peruvian Asparagus Importers Association has been discussing the possibility with USDA officials for the past few years. And just recently a similar fumigation requirement on Chilean grape imports was relaxed, with some growers qualifying for the systems approach as soon as this winter.

Yager freely admits that Peruvian asparagus and Chilean grapes are not necessarily related as each commodity and point of origin has to go through its own review process, but he said the elimination of fumigation with a toxic chemical is a universal goal.

“Everyone wants to get rid of fumigation,” he observed.

Yager said for the Peruvian asparagus industry that action would have several benefits: eliminate the cost of fumigation, speed up the time from harvest to market and deliver a better-quality asparagus spear to U.S. consumers.

He noted that the Peruvian asparagus industry had a downturn this past 12 months because of the El Nino effect that hit South America this year with unfriendly agricultural weather impacting many crops.

“We’re expecting to be back to normal in October with a more predictable supply situation,” he said, adding that the October to mid-December period should result in good volume and promotable supplies. “If we can get through this year and into next with a stable production situation, we can start to focus on growth and plant more acreage.”

He added that it is the uncertainty of supply that creates an unstable market and allows competitive production areas to win market share. Mexico has clearly done that over the last handful of years but Yager believes that Peru, with the elimination of fumigation, can see growth again.

Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics.
(Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here)

He does not anticipate any major changes in this year’s program with green asparagus continuing to dominate and the trend toward ocean shipments over air also remaining intact. “Ocean shipments now account for about 80-85 percent of the volume,” he said. “The cost by air is prohibitive.”

He indicated that relaxing the fumigation requirements will also impact the transportation trend. Air does allow for a much quicker trip, which helps importer deliver a higher quality product to their customer. The fumigation process is not beneficial to the asparagus and if that is eliminated, the use of air transport is expected to shrink even further.

The News in Charts is a collection of stories from the industry complemented by charts from Agronometrics to help better tell their story.

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