- Asparagus in Exile
- Del Monte’s Processing Goes to Peru
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- By Kimberly Warren
Staff Writer
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- Two processors have announced that they will no longer produce asparagus at their Washington state facilities. One will move production to another of its Washington facilities; the other will be moving its asparagus production offshore. The announcements have left asparagus industry representatives looking for a home for millions of pounds of surplus asparagus.
Del Monte has moved its asparagus processing from its Toppenish, Wash., plant to Peru. Seneca Foods has discontinued the processing of asparagus only at its Walla Walla facility.
“The plant (Del Monte) is ceasing production of asparagus effective, I believe, in the beginning of November,” a Del Monte company spokeswoman said. “Productivity is the reason for the change. Nothing else is changing at the factory. We’ll be importing it (asparagus) from Peru.”
No one at Seneca Foods was available for comment. They had recently purchased the Walla Walla facility from Chiquita. However, Alan Schreiber – administrator of the Washington Asparagus Commission – said that it is his expectation that Seneca Foods will process a similar amount of asparagus as it did last year.
“The big story is that Del Monte asparagus processing line has been closed down,” Schreiber said. “They’re not getting out of asparagus, they just decided to move their purchasing to Peru.”
Schreiber said Del Monte made the announcement on July 3. The Andean Trade Preference Act of 2002 and Washington state’s high minimum wage have both been blamed for Del Monte’s move.
“This is just one more example of how this administration’s trade policy is hurting agriculture,” he said. “George Bush gave a speech in Lima, Peru and said that renewing the Andean Trade Preference Act is one of the cornerstones of his foreign policy and that he pushed to get it through. As a result, the second biggest asparagus processor in Washington moved their asparagus processing to Peru. We’re exporting our industries offshore Our federal trade policies are directly resulting in the demise of the Washington and the U.S. asparagus industry.”
Schreiber said that Del Monte will continue to buy their cans from the plant next to their Toppenish plant and then ship those cans to Peru.
“They can now do that cheaper than they can buy asparagus that they can see from their own facility,” he said.
Schreiber said that the Del Monte plant used 7.5 million pounds of asparagus in 2002. And for 2003, he said, that asparagus will be looking for a new home.
“In 2002, Washington had 25.6 million pounds of fresh asparagus and 37.3 million pounds of processing,” he said. “There are two options for that asparagus: go into the fresh market or be plowed out. Processors will not take any more new asparagus, and our fresh growers are producing all that’s needed. If that asparagus then goes into the fresh market, it has the potential to wreck the market.”
Schreiber said that already, around 2,000 acres of asparagus have been plowed out in 2003. And he said the Del Monte move will continue to affect prices for asparagus growers.
“I think it has the potential to impact the fresh market if this is all just dumped on the market,” he said. “There’s only so much that we can do to impact that…If we have a surplus on the market, it will adversely impact the U.S. fresh market and some processed asparagus. Because the majority of California asparagus is harvested before ours (Washington state), if ours is in the toilet it will impact only the latter part of California’s but will impact the entire Michigan (season).”
Because of the nationwide impact the Del Monte move will have, Schreiber said he is working closely with growers associations from other states, especially Michigan and California.
“I can tell you that California is typically 99 percent fresh, which means that if the Washington situation results in the majority of Washington asparagus growers transitioning to fresh, that will indeed have some effect on us,” said Cherie Watte, executive director of the California Asparagus Commission. “I can’t say succinctly how this one situation will affect us…the processing scenario is very complex these days. Expect the unexpected is how everyone is approaching the industry at this time.”
John Bakker, director of the Michigan Asparagus Advisory Board, said that Michigan will be affected by the Del Monte move but that he is working closely with Schreiber. Recently, he said that he took a trip out to Washington state to gain first-hand perspective on the situation.
“If I wanted to summarize the feeling out there (in Washington), it’s uncertainty and generally not feeling really good about the asparagus prospects for the coming year,” Bakker said. “If growers are not (concerned), they should be. The market for asparagus products is relatively flat.”
But Bakker said that he has not given up and that there is still hope for the industry.
“I’m not the type of person who takes a hit and gives up,” he said. “We are working hard to see what we can do to shore up the U.S. asparagus industry; we’re working hard to be innovative, to do some things that will perhaps have long term benefits to the industry.”
Bakker said that the Michigan, Washington and California asparagus groups are “talking frequently, exploring options. At this point, no one’s come up with that magic solution.”
Like Bakker, Schreiber and the Washington Asparagus Commission are being proactive for the asparagus industry: “We’re going to Washington, D.C. this month to talk to our congressional delegation to see about working on a government purchase and to continue to try to find homes for the asparagus.”
Although he was unable to elaborate fully on the extent of their market development, Schreiber said there are many opportunities out there.
“I’m working with people who might be interested in buying asparagus,” he said. “I get my insight and logic from interacting with growers. Here’s something to think about: 7.5 million pounds of asparagus needs to find a new home. A government purchase might take care of 2.5 million pounds of it, so it’s down to five million. We’ve got a couple of million-pound deals that we’re working on, and there’s been 2,000 acres plowed out. So, it’s very likely that between plow outs and going to government purchases and trying to find homes for some of this asparagus, there will not be a glut in the market. Unfortunately, it does not take very much surplus of asparagus to impact the market.”
