Market Minute: Asparagus crop progressing positively for promotions

Overview of asparagus in the U.S. market, complemented by charts from Agronometrics. Original published on January 30, 2024.

Asparagus is known as a springtime vegetable, but it is also available year-round and grows throughout the world with imports coming from Peru and Mexico. Once the seeds are planted, asparagus requires three years to be established before it reaches maturity. The plants can live up to 20 years while they continue to produce. Asparagus is expensive because it must be harvested by hand at least twice a day.

The Peruvian asparagus season is finishing up rapidly and the demand currently exceeds the supply. The new crop will be coming out of the Mexican region, and we should see a good supply by the middle of February. The spring asparagus deal out of California and other regional areas around the U.S. will follow.

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

When the higher volume starts to roll, set up some attractive displays in the produce department. Consider displaying asparagus and strawberries together for fresh spring ambience. That will set a positive shopping mood with customers and trigger some well-worth purchases.

Asparagus can generate some high-volume produce sales. So this is the time to start planning some ad promotions. Get together with your asparagus suppliers and draw up a plan with some dates for your promotions. Remember that March 31 is Easter and asparagus is a key item for that holiday.

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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