As far as retail trends are concerned, Sam is encouraged by some innovative merchandising with asparagus that he has noted recently. “We are currently seeing more mixed packs of vegetables in store. We are seeing asparagus being paired with Brussels sprouts and green beans,” he said. “Also, trays being sold with white, green and purple. There is a lot of potential in these added value packs but still a niche market at the moment.”
Commenting on overall supplies from Peru, Sam expects the supplies will be much stronger than last year especially toward the latter part of the year. “There is an expectation that weather is more favorable this year than 2023,” he said. “This year we are seeing a much colder winter but with more production than 2023. The impact we are seeing is mainly on the growers' expectation for similar price levels as last year. It has made it very difficult for importers to be able to match the growers’ expectations with the actual demand and price levels in the U.S.”
He said there is also an expectation from the grow side, that there will be more and better promotions during the October-December window, considering that there should be more production around compared to last year. “Most major retailers have already placed some ads focusing on October up until Thanksgiving,” Sam added.
As far as logistics from Peru are concerned, Sam said the industry’s use of air shipments are becoming less frequent. “There has been a huge shift in the past few years whereas sea shipments are 80 percent versus 20 percent by air. We are seeing more options for sea shipments, having more vessel and arrival options.”
Altar, in fact, imports about 95 percent of its volume by sea with very few air shipments.
