Peruvian asparagus exports are recovering so far this year thanks in part to a slow rebound in demand in the US which has counteracted sales declines in some European Union markets (Spain, the Netherlands and France in particular) due to the recession.
Although not yet at 2008 levels, the country’s asparagus sendings reached US$130.9m between January and May – up 8 per cent on the same period in 2009 when sales were worth some US$121.7m.
During that period, fresh asparagus exports rose by 30 per cent in value to slightly more than US$84m, according to new data from the Peruvian Exporters Association’s (Adex) market intelligence system (Adex Data Trade).
In comparison, prepared or conserved asparagus shipments fell by 23 per cent to US$36.2m, Adex Data Trade said, while sendings of other forms of the vegetable increased by 1 per cent to US$10.5m.
Between January and May 2010, the US received US$59.8m-worth of Peruvian asparagus – an increase of 15 per cent against the year-earlier period.
However, Adex Data Trade recorded a 9 per cent fall in sales in Spain during the five-month period, with the country accounting for just 16 per cent of Peru’s total export volume.
The Netherlands also fell to third place in the import rankings, where sales were down by 4 per cent (to US$18.6m) – equal to France where sales dipped 3 per cent.
Conversely, sales rose by 40 per cent in the UK (to US$6.1m), by 40 per cent in Belgium and by 37 per cent in Germany.
Demand in Italy and Switzerland, meanwhile, fell by 5 per cent each, while sales rose by 38 per cent in Japan.
Australia also imports Peruvian asparagus – albeit in smaller volume – where imports reached US$2.7m in value between January and May.
The South American country exported US$389.1m-worth of asparagus in total during2009, according to Adex Data Trade, which represented a decline of 11 per cent against 2008 when a record US$439.3m were sold.
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