{"id":33662,"date":"2022-10-14T20:59:02","date_gmt":"2022-10-14T18:59:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.asparagusworld.com\/?post_type=news&p=33662"},"modified":"2025-07-17T09:23:22","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T09:23:22","slug":"us-asparagus-faces-increasing-competition-from-mexico","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/befve.com\/en\/news\/us-asparagus-faces-increasing-competition-from-mexico\/","title":{"rendered":"US asparagus faces increasing competition from Mexico"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

Increasing competition from foreign asparagus has strongly impacted US acreage. USDA data shows that in 2019, the area planted in the country totalled 21,900 acres, which produced 75.3 million pounds, down from 2017 levels of 27,600 acres and 84.1 million pounds, respectively. The main area affected, especially by the increasing entry of Mexican asparagus, is California, whose cultivation in 2007 covered 20,000 acres, reaching a harvest volume of 58 million pounds. By 2019, growing area was down to 5,300 acres and output was only 18.2 million pounds. The state of Michigan was the country\u2019s leading asparagus producer in 2019, with 10,000 acres and 28.2 million pounds, followed by the state of Washington, with 4,500 acres and 22.5 million pounds of asparagus harvested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Altar Produce <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Christopher Ramirez<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

                       <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

develops East Coast to increase US presence <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Altar Produce has 3 offices in the US: a central office in the city of Calexico, one in San Diego, and a newly opened one in Miami, from where it is developing its penetration strategy along the East Coast. Christopher Ramirez, president of Altar Produce, said, \u201cIt is a challenge to change the mentality on the East Coast, which is dominated by Peruvian asparagus, but we believe that we are doing a good job with the supermarkets who appreciate Mexico\u2019s year-round stable offer and supreme quality. Another great advantage we have in Mexico is the freshness that we can deliver for our US customers, being just on the other side of the border. Peruvian asparagus faces several challenges: old fields, logistical problems with maritime transit times of up to 2 weeks, and the fact that it has to be fumigated.\u201d Every year, Mexico is supplying fresh product in ever greater volumes. The US represents 60% of the volume sold by the company, which records annual production increases of 20-25%. \u201cThere are certain periods of the year when Mexico has a high volume of asparagus. That is why we have to sell to the entire US, rather than only to the West Coast.\u201d As of this year, the firm will begin offering organic asparagus – the result of an initial project of 500 hectares. Moreover, Altar is testing biodegradable materials for packaging. “We have to be up to date with viable technologies,” said Ram\u00edrez.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Dan Miller<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

JMB Asparagus<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

invests in acres and new packaging in California<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jacobs Malcom & Burtt started out as a wholesale fruit operator, and when Leo Ronlandelli purchased the company in the 1960s, it pioneered the shipping of fresh asparagus to the East Coast and the Pacific Rim. \u201cWe have taken a seasonal commodity and made it a year-round available product with our own production and importing primarily from Mexico,\u201d said Dan Miller, worldwide production & grower relations manager. \u201cWe are one of the last shippers of asparagus from California, where JMB represents 30% of the asparagus acreage. We also ship from Canada and South America, managing on a yearly basis over 8 million pounds.\u201d Last year, JMB\u2019s California growers have invested in more than 150 new acres of asparagus, and more than US$1 million of automated packing equipment to reduce costs. Overall, the company and its suppliers have invested more than US$4 million to improve its packing facilities and food safety operations in California and Mexico. Regarding new demand trends, Miller explained that \u201cpurple asparagus has become a specialty variety, especially among gourmet chefs, but the green asparagus still leads the category.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Michigan asparagus <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

an industry focused on value-added products<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michigan State has over 100 firms involved in commercial asparagus production on 9,500 acres. For years, its production has been stable, between 20.5 and 22.5 million pounds, ranking, together with Washington State, as the largest or second largest producer in the country, depending on the year. The most significant thing about Michigan production is that it still has a very viable processing market. Last year, 30% was either canned or frozen, while the remaining 70% was sold in the fresh market. This year\u2019s harvest season will start in May, with similar volumes to 2019 expected. \u201cOur focus is on value-added products. Instead of just sending asparagus in the traditional 5-kilo boxes, we will offer something like a microwavable bag, or focus on larger-sized spears, which are better for grilling and roasting,\u201d said John Bakker, executive director of the Michigan Asparagus Advisory Board. Michigan growers are always looking for new and better varieties. \u201cThe majority of the industry has planted a variety using our materials called Millennium, and now we are starting to see a new variety from the same breeding programme called Guelph Eclipse. We have started to plant the Dutch variety called Spartacus, a New Zealand variety called Pacific Challenger 2, and we are carefully monitoring a couple of new varieties from the LimGroup programme,\u201d said Bakker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00ab Mexican asparagus imports cause a reduction in the areas of asparagus grown in the United States, notably in California. \u00bb<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":36511,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news_categories":[55],"class_list":["post-33662","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news_categories-marche"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nUS asparagus faces increasing competition from Mexico - Befve & Co<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/befve.com\/en\/news\/us-asparagus-faces-increasing-competition-from-mexico\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"US asparagus faces increasing competition from Mexico - Befve & Co\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u00ab Mexican asparagus imports cause a reduction in the areas of asparagus grown in the United States, notably in California. \u00bb\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/befve.com\/en\/news\/us-asparagus-faces-increasing-competition-from-mexico\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Befve & Co\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-17T09:23:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/befve.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/AW2_LEADERS-USA_-Michigan-Asparagus-1024x768-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/befve.com\/en\/news\/us-asparagus-faces-increasing-competition-from-mexico\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/befve.com\/en\/news\/us-asparagus-faces-increasing-competition-from-mexico\/\",\"name\":\"US asparagus faces increasing competition from Mexico - 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