While Peru's phytosanitary protocol for exporting fresh asparagus to China was signed more than three years ago, it was only last week that the first shipments were sent.

DanPer executive director Jorge Aranguri told www.freshfruitportal.com the delays took so long because the company had to ensure everything was in order before exporting asparagus to the Asian giant.

"While the agreements were signed before the protocols, they have to go through a series of verifications for the fields and the companies that are interested in exporting to China. That takes time," he said, adding the process was supported by experience and know-how gained in the last six years shipping to Japan, another demanding market.

Peru received a visit from Chinese General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) experts from Feb. 2-6, who made sure production areas and packhouses complied with the protocol.

The inspectors visited six companies that had shown interest, including DanPer which was officially the first cab off the rank. The fresh vegetables left the packhouse on Thursday and were sent from Lima's Jorge Chávez International Airport, arriving in Shanghai on Monday.

"We already have the first comments and we've been informed that everything's in order, that the asparagus arrived very well and they are available today in the supermarket chain we have an agreement with," he said.

The first shipment was 800kg (1,763lbs) of fresh green asparagus - a volume that is expected to be repeated every 15 days, with DanPer set to evaluate customer and consumer feedback to plan whether to adjust or expand volume starting in August.

"We have availability all year to harvest, so we can adjust according to the market when and how we want to harvest," Aranguri explained.

DanPer is Peru's third-largest fresh asparagus exporter with annual production of one million boxes last year and forecasts for 1.3 million boxes in 2016.

"Most of our expots go to traditional markets like the U.S. and the European Union, but we also have attractive markets like Chile, Brazil, Hong Kong and Japan."

Competing in China

It isn't easy being a new player in a market like China which already has its own asparagus production, but Aranguri sees the outlook as auspicious, not least because asparagus are generally consumed by a niche demographic with high incomes and knowledge about the importance of China's strict rules for the safety of imports.

"Consumers are more aware that a lot of the time Chinese agricultural products are not as trustworthy as what Chinese consumers are looking for, so they are not content, they don't trust the health aspect," he said.

"In contrast, imported products like ours deliver all the safety and quality guarantees that this consumer I've been talking about - educated and with high purchasing power - wants.

"We will mainly trade our asparagus in the Chinese coastal cities near Shanghai, where the supermarket chain we're working with has its facilities."

According to statistics from Peru's National Agricultural Health Service (SENASA), the country has become the world's leading asparagus exporter over the last four years with a volume of 129,332 metric tons (MT) in 2015; the country is followed by Mexico (105,738MT) and the U.S. (29,462MT).

Peru's asparagus production mostly takes place in the departments of La Libertad, Lambayeque, Ica, Áncash and Lima.

The majority of the crop is shipped to the United States which account for two-thirds of volume, with a further 10% to the Netherland, 7% to Brazil and 3% to Australia. Other receivers include Japan, Costa Rica, Chile, Mexico and Canada.

www.freshfruitportal.com