While Ecuador is able to produce asparagus year-round, production is limited to two specific windows: June through August, and December through February. Evelyn Vallejo of Ecuafields explains: “We organize our seasons into these two windows based on the demand in the international markets. Even though we have the potential to produce year-round, it is much more beneficial to us to produce in line with the demand.”
“The international demand aligns with other production areas, and by limiting our production to specific windows, Ecuafields is able to supply the demand during off-season of countries like the United States and Canada,” Vallejo says, “When the United States and Canada enter their domestic season, the demand for Ecuador’s product goes down.”
Expanding volumes this season
The production of the December through February season is in full swing and for Ecuafields so far the season is going really well. The company produces both white and green asparagus, and Vallejo says: “We have many new lots that are now entering into production, so our volumes have doubled this season. The weather has also been really excellent for the production of asparagus, so we have been seeing good volumes and great quality. Both demand and pricing have been steady this season.”
She adds: “The increase in our production volume has allowed us to expand our export program. We are working on entering new markets. Currently, our biggest market is the United States, followed by Europe and Canada, but with our expanded volumes we can start focusing on expanding our destinations and market shares, with an eye to Asia and the Middle East, specifically.”
New growth planned for the future
Asparagus can be grown throughout Ecuador, but the cultivation is mostly concentrated in the mountainous regions of the country. “We have seen excellent results with growing our asparagus in these regions,” Vallejo says. “We plan to expand our growing areas to include other provinces in Ecuador, too. Our aim is to help generate jobs in areas that are currently underserved, and support communities in need. And, of course, we also want to produce a larger variety of products destined for export in Ecuador.”
“We are constantly investigating new technologies which could help us produce a product with higher quality. We are currently in the process of obtaining Global Gap certification, and we will be will building a new packing plant in these next three months, which should be ready for use by our next season,” Vallejo concludes.
For more information:
Evelyn Vallejo
Ecuafields
Email: info@ecuafields.com
www.ecuafields.com