The asparagus market has been active in Peru, but the season is winding down, transitioning to Mexico. It’s anticipated that the cold and rain will result in lighter volume from the country. Sandy Gatanio of Ayco Farms says they’re at the very end of the Peruvian deal, bringing in a limited supply at this point. Most of the fields have closed down but they are considering opening some up again. “We’ll decide in a week or so just depending on where we see the Mexican volume going,” he said.
California will follow as the next region in production. Ramping up a little more production in Peru in the next six weeks, if Mexico is lighter, could fall around the Easter pull. “Again, if rain and poor weather in California has an impact on their asparagus production then sometimes you hit a good window of opportunity by bringing in an imported product. Especially since Easter is in April when Mexico could be winding down then.” Prices are still holding, even with the approach of Valentine’s Day, when more restaurants add asparagus to their menus, especially the white variety.
Ayco sources greenhouse bell peppers out of Mexico and as far as trade agreements he’s like everyone else. “Everybody’s on standby to see what’s going to happen.” They’re still receiving product but it’s a little lighter on production than anticipated. He also said that some retailers had ads for Valentine’s day but they backed off because of the fact there was such low production at this time of year due to colder weather and rain.
For more information:
Sandy Gatanio
Ayco Farms
Ph: (954) 788-6800