Asparagus has always been one of the main products of Peruvian agro-exportation, being for many years Peru the first exporter of fresh asparagus, however in recent years it had lost that title, until in 2020, despite being undergoing a world pandemic, the title was recovered.

Despite the fact that Peru lost the baton of the first exporter of fresh asparagus worldwide for 4 years to Mexico, asparagus remained the first product in the country's export basket. This new achievement was due to the fact that the vegetable producers knew how to adapt quickly to the crisis caused by Covid 19, dispatching shipments normally.

Like any global crisis, it brought with it a decrease in total shipments, however, this decrease was slight compared to the other export markets of fresh asparagus, in this way Peru managed to send 125 thousand 386 tons of the vegetable for a value of 377 million dollars, which was 4% less in value and 5% less in volume compared to 2019.

In data worldwide, shipments of fresh asparagus decreased 12% in volume and 7% in value during 2020 and Mexico, which was the main exporter of the vegetable, presented a drop of 54% in volume and 17% in value, reaching only at 168 thousand 686 tons for almost 373 million dollars which left it just below Peru in the world top.

Fresh asparagus markets

The United States continues to be the main import market for fresh Peruvian asparagus, accounting for 68% of the share, which translates into 255.6 million dollars. Other markets that stood out were the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Spain and Canada, which accounted for 26% of the share.