With the development of its 2012-13 Category Management Plan Outline for Fresh Peruvian Asparagus, the Peruvian Asparagus Importers Association has once again endeavored to jump start the promotion of the crop by retailers and foodservice operators throughout the United States.

PAIA Coordinator Priscilla Lleras said that the printed piece provides a mountain of information that merchandisers can use to increase sales. That data include a breakdown of demographic information identifying key consumers of asparagus as well as “category and merchandising goals, suggestions on display, and promotional/advertising ideas that offer retailers fresh strategies to increase sales of Peruvian asparagus.”

She added that the outline “specifically includes statistics relating to market summaries, trends, nutritional facts, consumer positioning, quality commitments and food-safety certifications.” The information is disseminated to the foodservice and retail communities through importers as well as the trade press,

“We promote the Category Management Plan Outline for Fresh Peruvian Asparagus with the goal of equipping and supplying retailers and industry at large with the necessary information that is outlining the health benefits, value and convenience of fresh Peruvian asparagus,” Ms. Lleras said.

For the 2012-13 season, importers are expecting a steady crop with very promotable volumes. “Peruvian asparagus should be in the retailer spotlight by September, just as we are hitting peak production performance,” she said.

The timing for this year’s crop is fairly typical as it will peak in the third and fourth quarters of the calendar year, as it always does. Ms. Lleras wants to remind retailers that the Peruvian season runs counter to domestic growing regions, which enables retailers to sell asparagus 365 days per year.

Among the information that can be mined from the PAIA plan is that consumption of imported fresh asparagus in the United States is at an all-time high. Though per-capita consumption has remained steady for the past three years at 1.6 pound per person annually, this actually represents a 33 percent increase over the past decade.

In 2011, U.S. importers imported almost 390 million pounds of fresh asparagus. This compares to under 300 million pounds just four years ago. In 2011, Peru and Mexico pretty much split the volume of asparagus imports, each sending just a bit under 200 million pounds to the United States.

Through its two meetings per year, the members of PAIA meet and talk about the Peruvian asparagus deal and how to better merchandise the upscale product in the United States.

Ms. Lleras said the meetings “allow us to collectively network with the exporters, producers, logistics providers, importers, government agencies and trade industry as we engage in open dialogue to collaborate techniques, systems, approaches and treatments that ultimately affect the entire logistics chain.”

She added that PAIA is the channel through which “information is created, obtained, shared and affected regarding the entire asparagus industry both in Peru and represented throughout the United States and beyond.”

Specifically, she said that many importers provide information at these meetings that bring new opportunities to the market place.

She said there is a lot of work being done in the area of creating value-added asparagus products.

“As an industry, Peruvian exporters and importers are partnering efforts in developing value-added programs that provide U.S. consumers with options that promote convenience and easy-to-prepare alternatives for fresh Peruvian asparagus,” Ms. Lleras said. “Importers are focused on providing quality and value to the U.S. market by supplying quality fresh asparagus and various value-added presentations. These various options and presentations are supplying U.S. households with a viable and healthy vegetable — Peruvian asparagus as a meal solution.”

PAIA has also been very active dealing with the quality of Peruvian asparagus. Last year, the USDA established a fumigation protocol, which ended up causing delays and hurting the quality of the product.

Through PAIA, importers began articulating their concerns to the proper USDA authorities and by December the protocol was altered so that it continued to provide the pest security needed without damaging the asparagus spears.