Want to know more about asparagus? Find it here—from growing aspects and varieties to price patterns, consumer buying habits, and much more. With this gourmet vegetable continuing to drive wholesale and retail demand, this report details everything you need to successfully grow, ship, and market this commodity.
A Brief History and Growing Aspects
What may be the earliest depiction of asparagus existed on an Egyptian frieze dating back to 3,000 BC. It’s said that Queen Nefertiti proclaimed asparagus to be the food of the gods. Romans, in the first century BC, were the first to preserve the vegetable by freezing it in the Alps. Later, France’s King Louis XIV dubbed asparagus the “king of vegetables” and he was the first to have it cultivated in greenhouses so he could enjoy it throughout the year.
Asparagus spears are the first-day shoots of the plant in spring. As cooler temperatures arrive in autumn, the plant prepares for winter by translocating nutrients to the root (commercially called the crown). During the winter months, the plant will be dormant as soil freezes.
Once spring arrives, buds emerge as first-day shoots. If left to grow a second day, leaves will emerge and the spear will have no commercial value.
White asparagus comes from mounding soil above the crown to develop the spears in darkness, avoiding the synthesis of chlorophyll and the green color. Purple asparagus, on the other hand, has nothing to do with growing method, but is a specific variety that yields this color.
In warm climates, in mainly Californian varieties, plant hibernation is forced by cutting irrigation. Once irrigation is restarted, spears surge. In rainy regions, where hydric stress to simulate hibernation is not possible, all the ferns but one are cut and new spears will grow.
Asparagus is considered a gourmet vegetable that can typically be purchased fresh, canned, or frozen. Green and purple asparagus are generally sold as fresh produce, while white asparagus is mostly sold to processors.
Seasonal Availability and Price Patterns
The U.S. asparagus market is supplied primarily by Peru and Mexico. An analysis of market behavior for most of 2017 will illustrate patterns and key points, including weekly arrivals to U.S. markets, availability, and the resulting prices due to seasonal variations.
A countercyclical price behavior should be expected; in the Mexico and California season from January to March, when supply is high—from 7,000 to 9,000 tons per week—prices fall to the lowest point in the year, about $2 per kilogram.
Want to know more about asparagus? Find it here—from growing aspects and varieties to price patterns, consumer buying habits, and much more. With this gourmet vegetable continuing to drive wholesale and retail demand, this report details everything you need to successfully grow, ship, and market this commodity.
A Brief History and Growing Aspects
What may be the earliest depiction of asparagus existed on an Egyptian frieze dating back to 3,000 BC. It’s said that Queen Nefertiti proclaimed asparagus to be the food of the gods. Romans, in the first century BC, were the first to preserve the vegetable by freezing it in the Alps. Later, France’s King Louis XIV dubbed asparagus the “king of vegetables” and he was the first to have it cultivated in greenhouses so he could enjoy it throughout the year.
Asparagus spears are the first-day shoots of the plant in spring. As cooler temperatures arrive in autumn, the plant prepares for winter by translocating nutrients to the root (commercially called the crown). During the winter months, the plant will be dormant as soil freezes.
Once spring arrives, buds emerge as first-day shoots. If left to grow a second day, leaves will emerge and the spear will have no commercial value.
White asparagus comes from mounding soil above the crown to develop the spears in darkness, avoiding the synthesis of chlorophyll and the green color. Purple asparagus, on the other hand, has nothing to do with growing method, but is a specific variety that yields this color.
In warm climates, in mainly Californian varieties, plant hibernation is forced by cutting irrigation. Once irrigation is restarted, spears surge. In rainy regions, where hydric stress to simulate hibernation is not possible, all the ferns but one are cut and new spears will grow.
Asparagus is considered a gourmet vegetable that can typically be purchased fresh, canned, or frozen. Green and purple asparagus are generally sold as fresh produce, while white asparagus is mostly sold to processors.
Seasonal Availability and Price Patterns
The U.S. asparagus market is supplied primarily by Peru and Mexico. An analysis of market behavior for most of 2017 will illustrate patterns and key points, including weekly arrivals to U.S. markets, availability, and the resulting prices due to seasonal variations.
A countercyclical price behavior should be expected; in the Mexico and California season from January to March, when supply is high—from 7,000 to 9,000 tons per week—prices fall to the lowest point in the year, about $2 per kilogram.
National shipping point prices during other months of the year fluctuate, to about $4 per kilogram, with wholesale terminal market prices at about $6 per kilogram.
The rest of the year the market is supplied by Peru and Mexico, and Chile to a lesser degree. Mexico produces year-round but its production decreases to a quarter of its peak supply when not in high season (February and March). March harvests average 30,000 metric tons, though 2017’s harvest reached 34,000 metric tons, its highest production since 2015, after warm temperatures and rain altered January and February markets.
Peruvian exporters obtain higher prices, the highest of the year, because they are almost alone in the market for some weeks, just after Central California and Mexico’s high season ends.
Peruvian asparagus producers take advantage of this window of opportunity, orienting harvests to these weeks, creating a short seasonal monopoly and securing much higher prices at $4 to $6 per kilogram at shipping point (shipping point prices are considered the equivalent of full container-load prices, while terminal market prices are wholesale prices or per box, and already include seller margin and logistics costs).
The Peruvian window lasts from August to January; Peru, Chile, Washington, and Michigan produce from April to June filling the market that Mexico and Central California leave, obtaining higher prices. If the Mexican season is delayed due to cold weather, Peruvians can supply the U.S. market for these extra days at very high prices. This is possible because it only takes one day to produce the spears that are sent to the market by plane.
At the beginning of August after the California, Michigan, Washington, and Chile supply disappears from the market, prices rise again, not as much as in July but about 50 percent above the main season shipping point prices, getting to $5 per kilogram—these weeks in early May can be considered another short seasonal window.
In the average monthly asparagus price evolution graph, we can clearly see a price pattern from January 2011 to April 2017. Every year begins with a high price due to scarcity, then we can see how the price drops every year in March due to high production from Mexico and the United States.
We can also see a clear pattern in the market since 2013; the average annual price has grown about 21 percent from $4.79 per kilogram in 2011 to $5.79 in 2017. In addition, 2015 had a 2 percent higher average price than 2016.
Pricing and Value by Type
Types of asparagus—green, purple, and white—have different values and pricing. The market prices reflected in the included graphs represent nonweighted average prices of the three most traded varieties, in all U.S. terminal markets or shipping points, excluding organic product.
White asparagus has year-round higher pricing, which is matched by green asparagus in the first week of January, the first week of August, and the two last weeks of December.
White asparagus has the most stable price of all the varieties, as its price ranges between $6 and $8 per kilogram in a year. In recent years, however, volatility has increased.
On the other hand, green asparagus has a seasonal price that can reach up to $7 per kilogram the last week of December and the first two weeks of January before Mexico and Central California’s high season begins. The second highest price is in April, when Mexico and Central California high season ends.
In general, organic asparagus enjoys a significant premium over conventional product. Supply comes mainly from California, and at a much lower level from Mexico. The U.S. markets most active in buying organic asparagus are Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco; the most traded organic asparagus is green.
The average monthly price evolution of organic asparagus shows a decrease in price from 2014 to 2016 of 11 percent, but a rise in pricing from January to April 2017 of 25 percent. This is mostly due to demand for organic white asparagus from Peru and purple asparagus from California. The main difference in the market is higher pricing during September and October, different than conventional asparagus, which has its best pricing in December and January.
Since green asparagus dominates more than 80 percent of supply, it shapes the market. Highest pricing is from December to January, followed by May and September. From 2011 to 2016 there was an annual growth rate in pricing of 15 percent, reaching an average annual price of $5.69 per kilogram for 2015.
From 2015 to 2016, the annual price fell by 3 percent but reached a higher price in January 2016 of $8.32 per kilogram, 19 percent higher than 2015. The next year, 2017, started with a January price 19 percent below 2016, and for February to April, prices where 4 percent above 2016.
Three of the markets—Miami, Los Angeles, and New York—follow a similar pattern for green asparagus, though Los Angeles pays higher prices in the off season, followed by Miami during the U.S. production season.
Demand and pricing
In the case of the green asparagus and comparing international prices for the United States, Mexico, and Canada, Toronto pays the highest prices, with Montreal and New York in between.
Although white asparagus represents only 12 percent of U.S. market transactions, it is a very different story in European markets, especially Germany and France. In the United States, we can see an interesting year-to-year trend in pricing, with an annual average price increase of 12 percent from 2011 to 2016.
In this period, the total price increase was 60 percent starting at $4.73 per kilogram in 2011 and ending at $7.56 per kilogram in 2016. One of the causes was reduced Peruvian production for fresh white asparagus. For 2017, despite a rough start for February and March, pricing rebounded in April.
In tracking green asparagus and international pricing, Toronto pays the highest while New York and Montreal pay lower prices. For white asparagus, Toronto also shows higher pricing when compared to Chicago or Paris.
When comparing terminal market or wholesale pricing and retail supermarket pricing, the latter is less volatile. On average, supermarket prices have been only 11 percent higher than wholesale markets, and sometimes retail prices have been lower—this suggests supermarkets are increasingly buying direct from importers, and wholesalers are selling more to the foodservice industry at better prices.
Buying Habits and Consumption
In the United States, sales for asparagus is higher among households making more than $100,000 a year at 52 percent compared to 31 percent for those making $25,000 to $49,999 annually. The average consumption of asparagus was 1.7 pounds per year in 2015, with 45 percent of consumption in western states. Rising awareness helped push demand up 36 percent in 2016, with asparagus as the second ‘new vegetable’ people will try.
Purple asparagus is gaining attention as part of the ‘colorful food’ trend in U.S. supermarket chains, like Whole Foods. This is augmented by school programs encouraging children to eat healthier like the “Eat the Rainbow” initiative.
Purple asparagus is not only sweeter than green asparagus, but is full of the antioxidants and antimicrobials that attract health-oriented consumers.
White asparagus, though still popular in Europe, has had far less demand in American markets and is sold mainly in high-end U.S. retailers. Though it is considered a niche item, it has major potential for growth in American markets if clients learn how to prepare it. White asparagus is prepared differently than green asparagus, as it must be peeled before cooking.
Production and Exports
Statistics from the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations show China is the world’s largest asparagus growers, followed by Peru and Mexico. Most of China’s crop is consumed in the country, while other producers export most of their production to the United States, Europe, and China.
Peru leads the world in total asparagus exports by value, at 34 percent (or $420 million) to Mexico’s 32 percent of the global market. The United States exports 12 percent (from California, Washington, and Michigan).
The lion’s share of Peru exports go to the United States (84 percent) with the remainder sent to Europe and China. Mexico exports 93 percent of its asparagus to the United States, but because most supply arrives during the high season, prices are low. Peru exports only 60 percent of Mexico’s volume in the low season, but receives much higher revenue due to timing.
Mexico, however, has increased seasonal supply while Peruvian exporters have been reducing asparagus productions in favor of higher-value products like avocados and blueberries.
China’s production is dominated by white asparagus, representing 65 percent of total harvests, with 90 percent of white asparagus processed into cans or jars for export to Europe; Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, and France are major buyers, accounting for close to 80 percent of China’s processed output. China also exports frozen asparagus to Japan and Korea.
But a shift in production, beginning 10 years ago, saw Chinese farmers planting more green asparagus than white, because it is more cost efficient and easier to grow. Chinese consumers are more inclined to eat fresh asparagus than processed, though growers are betting the rising middle and upper classes will buy more fresh asparagus as their purchasing power increases.
Lower production costs
China asparagus consumption also relies heavily on tourism and Western restaurants. With a lower cost than most other producers, China can sell at half the cost of Peru and compete in the processed white asparagus market in the United States and Europe. Even with import duties and taxes, Chinese processed white asparagus is still cheaper than Peruvian imports.
As a very labor-intensive product, Mexico and Peru have lower production costs than the United States, giving them a competitive advantage.
Growers can leverage infrastructure and save money through agricultural clusters, sharing packing plants for different seasonal harvests due to vertical integration and shared logistics for transportation and shipping. This has enabled growers in Mexico and Peru to increase yields over the past two decades.
When it comes to freight, Mexico has a 50 percent lower cost than Peru, due to distance and mode of transportation, since Mexico ships by truck and Peru by plane. Peru, however, makes up for the higher shipping cost by getting a higher price on low-season asparagus from August to January.
Some Peru shipments are now traveling by boat, in modified atmosphere compartments. The savings in reduced freight costs is said to be equivalent to 4 tons of extra yield in the field.
California growers that compete with Mexico and Peru say these advantages and free trade agreements have lowered their prices, which is why state production has fallen by 45 percent since 2011, according to USDA data. Yet growers are fighting back through marketing agreements and promotions, hoping patriotism and the locally-grown craze will entice U.S. consumers to pay more for domestically-produced asparagus.
Top Importers
According to United Nations Comtrade international statistics data, the United States and Germany are the world’s top asparagus importers. The United States represents 67 percent of imports valued at just under $716 million for 2016, with Germany accounting for 10 percent at a value at just under $103 million. The United Kingdom and Canada are third and fourth, each representing 7 percent of the import market for 2016.
Measuring the U.S.’s top import suppliers by value, Peru represents 50 percent to Mexico’s 49 percent. Ecuador and Argentina also participate in the market, but in much lower proportion, with under 1 percent each.
In early 2017, Peru’s asparagus exports fell due to volatile weather patterns, including high temperatures and rain. Losses topped $40 million in January and February, representing a 50 percent loss of income, and pushed January prices to $14.23 per kilogram in some markets for green asparagus.
