In this week's ‘In Charts' installment, Cristian Crespo of data visualization tool Agronometrics illustrates how the U.S. market is evolving. Each week the article will look at a different horticultural commodity, focusing on a specific origin or topic to see what factors are driving change.

Asparagus is a product that has seen increasing consumption globally over the last few years, positioning it as a gourmet food item due to its nutritional characteristics and taste.

The two main suppliers of asparagus to the U.S. market over the last nine years have been Mexico and Peru - two of the world’s top exporters. Since 2015 there has been a sustained increase in volumes in the U.S. market, as can be seen in the charts below.

Historic volumes of asparagus arrivals in the U.S. market, by origin

Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics. (Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here)

This increase in volume is mainly due to the rise in supplies from Mexico. For example, in April 2019, shipments of 17,000 metric tons (MT) were registered - a five year high and 22% up on the same month last year.

Historic monthly volumes of Mexican asparagus in the U.S. market

Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics. (Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here)

In related to per-kilogram prices, Mexico has generally received lower prices in the U.S. market than other origins, oscillating between US$2.74 and US$4.40, the latter of which is from 2015. In related to per-kilogram prices, Mexico has generally received lower prices in the U.S. market than other origins, moving between US$2.74 and US$4.40, the latter of which is from 2015.

Historic average prices of asparagus in the U.S. market (USD/KG), but origin

Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics. (Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here)

April 2019 saw the lowest prices registered of the last five years in the U.S market, with the average price of US$1.83 per kilo, 32% lower year-on-year.

Historic monthly prices of Mexican asparagus in the U.S. market (USD/KG)

Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics. (Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here)

I believe that Mexico should focus on diversifying its asparagus markets, positioning itself as a leader in other markets not just for the fresh market, but the processed market, winning space on the tables of consumers around the world.

In our ‘In Charts’ series, we work to tell some of the stories that are moving the industry. Feel free to take a look at the other articles by clicking here.

You can keep track of the markets daily through Agronometrics, a data visualization tool built to help the industry make sense of the huge amounts of data that professionals need to access to make informed decisions. If you found the information and the charts from this article useful, feel free to visit us at www.agronometrics.com where you can easily access these same graphs, or explore the other 23 fruits we currently track.