With a large influx of Mexican asparagus pushing down prices, California's growers have had a tough year so far. But with weather warming up, California's asparagus growers are hoping Mexican imports will fall off and clear the way for better prices.“It's been quite challenging,” said Cherie Watte Angulo, executive director of the California Asparagus Commission. “There's been a huge amount of imports coming from Mexico, and that's depressed prices.” Low prices have made California's growers reluctant to harvest their crops for fear of losing money on the deal. Though Angulo noted that there are still growers in the state who are harvesting asparagus at this point.
“Every year we face this situation because the Mexico and California seasons overlap,” said Angulo. “Easter has to do with how much of an overlap there is, because it's my feeling that Mexican shippers will want to stretch their season out to Easter to get that marketing bump.” With spring officially beginning this week, California's growers are eager to provide consumers with a producty typically associated with the season.
“I don't think Mexico can continue to produce at the rate they have been, so their season is nearly over, and the market will open up for California asparagus to command good prices,” said Angulo. “So there is hope that the pipeline will clear out and we'll have an opportunity to supply quality product to consumers, because the last thing California's growers want is to not harvest a good crop.”
For more information:
Cherie Watte Angulo
California Asparagus Commission
+1 760 356 4906