Also, the unusual Mexican production volume this year has had a relatively negative effect on prices, so the returns for Peruvian producers on the American market were lower with the early crops. "Last week, prices started to improve, which must be because Mexico's production is falling. We normally had good prices in June and July, but this year the presence of Central American asparagus has had a huge impact. Fortunately, last week the market has started to recover and hopefully this trend will continue," explains Loayza.
"This week, given that there was a smaller volume available, the demand has increased overall. We expect the reduced volume to be compensated with better prices; otherwise, the growers will have to suffer the consequences of this loss, as while the US price has increased significantly, in Europe it remains stable. In any case, as the weeks pass, prices in Europe should come closer to the US levels, although this is still a little uncertain for both producers and customers. And this uncertainty also exists when predicting the harvest volumes, as what was not harvested in recent weeks will not necessarily be recovered in the second half," he added.
In 2014 and 2015, Peru exported an average of 70% of its fresh asparagus to the United States and 24% to Europe. These figures make it clear that the volumes are generally concentrated in just two markets, so the opening and development of new markets is always a priority on the agenda of exporters. "The Asian market is developing and is definitely very interesting for us as producers and exporters, but this year, the length of the exceptionally productive Mexican campaign has also been affecting our relationships in new markets, and our presence on this continent was reduced at this stage of the campaign. We hope that, in this coming period, the situation will go back to normal," concludes the representative.