Keystone Fruit Marketing Inc., which is headquartered in Greencastle, PA, is anticipating a Peruvian asparagus deal very similar to last year.

At least that is the view of Tracy Wood, sales manager of the firm’s Southeast Division in Vero Beach, FL. But speaking on July 29, Wood added the caveat that it is “still too early to tell. It’s winter down there right now and not all the fields are open.”

He said the cooler temperatures that are the hallmark of winter do reduce yields but Keystone expects that the plants will rebound when the weather heats up and a normal season will prevail.

“We believe there will be steady supplies from now through the middle of September,” he said. “Volume will then start to increase and we will move into the heavy production period.”

Wood said Peru always produces more asparagus in the October-through-January time frame and he sees no reason why that won’t be the case this year. Though some growers have pulled acreage in recent years, others have added some creating a fairly stable supply situation. Keystone is one of the companies on the growth end of the ledger.

“We made some investments in plantings over the last three years and soon we will start to see some production from those fields,” said Wood.

He added that Keystone continues to look for land and water to increase the production that it can control. The company has production in Mexico and California, and Wood said having its own fields does give the firm more options as well as control over the quality of the pack.

Asked about what’s new, Wood praises the status quo. He said the Peruvian asparagus deal, as it relates to imports to the United States, is a “mature commodity.” The growers, the retailers and everyone in-between who has a hand in the distribution of Peruvian asparagus has been doing it for a long time with the system working very well.

“We are very excited about the upcoming season in Peru and our marketing plan for that crop,” he said. “The Peruvian asparagus deal continues to offer potential for growth, and we are excited about that.”

Keystone Marketing continues to have a collaborative relationship with Los Angeles-based Progressive Produce Corp. He said the two companies work together to both source and sell asparagus, as well as onions, which works very well for their individual customers. The collaboration gives both companies increased sales opportunities.