Structural Changes in Asparagus Production and Exports from Peru

Asparagus is the star product among non-traditional agricultural exports(NTAXs) in Peru. The export of preserved asparagus has expanded since the end ofthe 1980s. Although there was some stagnation in the mid-1990s, exports of freshasparagus have expanded rapidly since the end of the 1990s. Now, the export ofboth preserved and fresh asparagus constitute the second most important agriculturalexport in Peru after coffee.Besides the change in demand on the international market, the importantfactor behind the shift from preserved to fresh asparagus is the change in the supplystructure of asparagus. In the case of preserved asparagus, Peruvian exportsexpanded because of Peru’s competitiveness, which originated from favorableproduction factors, such as climate, soil and labor. However, because of thegrowing presence of Chinese products on the international market, Peru’s productslost their competitiveness. In the case of fresh asparagus, the investment ofagricultural corporations in production and their innovation in integrating differenteconomic processes from the point of production to the time of export built asuccessful supply structure that is suited for the export of fresh agricultural produce.