Peru supplies the United States with a significant volume of fresh asparagus, providing as much as one-third of the product consumed in the U.S. market. But every one of those millions of pounds of asparagus spears must be fumigated before entering into U.S. commerce, meaning the produce cannot be certified as organic.

Peruvian growers do grow organic asparagus, but that volume either stays in the country or is exported to Canada or Europe, where fumigation is not required. Change might be coming to the U.S. market, however, and it could happen sooner than later.

“Stay tuned”

The Peruvian Asparagus Importers Association (PAIA), which represents virtually all of the asparagus the U.S. imports from the South American country, has been urging the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to change its mandatory fumigation policy for years—and there are rumors that this change might finally be on the horizon.

“The Peruvian Asparagus Importers Association, importers, growers and many others have been trying hard to eliminate the fumigation,” said Steven Espinosa of FruVeg Marketing Inc. of Miami, Florida. “It’s been an ongoing topic for many years. It does seem like we are getting somewhere, but it's difficult to know when it may happen.”

The current USDA Peruvian asparagus protocol requires imported asparagus to immediately be placed in a fumigation chamber once its been unloaded from a ship or a cargo plane at a U.S. port of entry. The process involves bringing the asparagus up to an ambient temperature and gassing it with methyl bromide. Peru has proposed a systems approach, which would begin at the packing shed in Peru and would involve physical inspection of each lot of asparagus upon arrival to the United States. Depending upon the results of the inspection, a container could be released or fumigated.

Like other importers, Anaheim, California’s Cal Fresco is closely watching for the USDA announcement concerning eliminating the fumigation requirement—one which in turn could lead to an organic asparagus option for these Peruvian imports. “Although field testing continues, there is still nothing new to report,” Gary Meadows of Cal Fresco said, adding that the company will have increased organic supply from Mexico for the fall/winter time frame this year.

Speaking for the PAIA, Co-Chair Craig Rolandelli, who is also president of Northern California asparagus grower and distributor Jacob Malcolm & Burtt, said: “We (PAIA) are closely working with USDA as we always have. What I can say at this point is that I would suggest that retailers stay close to their Peruvian asparagus suppliers because there are many new opportunities to come for the buying market of asparagus.”

PAIA Executive Director Priscilla Lleras advised the industry “to stay tuned” indicating an announcement is possible if not imminent.

Dwindling domestic asparagus supply

The only organic asparagus that can currently be sold in the United States is grown domestically—a dwindling domestic industry—or produced in Mexico. While several asparagus growers in Mexico have reportedly increased their organic production, supplies are still typically well below demand. 

Mexico produces a steady supply of fresh asparagus for eight or nine months of the year, with very few supplies in February, March and April. This is Peru’s heaviest shipping period, but to date it cannot fill any organic asparagus supply gap. Nor can it add organic SKUs during the last quarter of the year when the country is also in a peak shipping period and consumer demand for fresh asparagus is at its height.

Importers are doing what they can to fill the gap, but it is not sufficient at this point. Many reported increasing their organic supplies from Mexico and searching for new suppliers. 

Crystal Valley Foods’ Marketing Director Katiana Valdez recently reported that the Miami, Florida-based company is closely watching the progress on relaxing the fumigation rules. “To date, there have been no changes to the USDA protocols as they relate to organic Peruvian asparagus,” she said. “We currently have an organic program in the spring Mexican asparagus season and we are constantly looking at new areas in the country which will allow us to expand our organic asparagus offering and availability.”

The industry is anxiously waiting for the USDA to make an announcement, but any new regulation will have to go through a rule-making process, including a public comment period. Realistically, it would appear almost impossible for new rules to be put in place prior to 2025.