The supply of asparagus is light right now thanks to contributing factors from a few growing countries. Starting in Mexico, asparagus is coming out of Central Mexico, a region that is seeing a lot of rain. "Our main region is southern Baja and the production and quality there is very good," says Daren Van Dyke of Five Crowns, adding that it also had a new grower come online this season which has added additional volume.
Overall, supplies of asparagus are light right now.
Meanwhile, in Peru, the northern part of the country also saw some storm activity. "They've had some issues there and the other factor is, European demand for asparagus is very high so Peru would rather send product there," says Van Dyke.
What also makes this time of year tricky is that while the plants are put into forced dormancy, excessive rains can affect or even undo that dormancy and bring on a greater supply than anticipated.
Left: young fern; right: more mature fern
Asparagus demand increasing
Meanwhile demand for asparagus is good and strengthening. "Once you get past the peak of summer, it seems like it starts to pick up. Then the local deals start to dry up as well," says Van Dyke.
With asparagus, while there are numerous contract deals, it's also driven by fixed-price deals, even in tight markets.
Supply of asparagus could stay tight for the near future.
Looking ahead, supply is anticipated to stay fairly snug for the next month or so and pricing is expected to stay in the mid to upper $20s.
For more information:
Daren Van Dyke
Five Crowns
Tel: +1 (760) 344-1933
[email protected]
www.FiveCrowns.com