Evolution of the commercialisation of asparagus in Argentina

CASTAGNINO, A. M.; DIAZ, K. E.; ROGERS, ; FERNANDEZ LOSANO, J.; LIVEROTI, O. ; GUISOLIS, A.; PERALTA, M. E.

Londres

Conferencia; 10th International Conference on AGRICULTURE & HORTICULTURE; 2017

International Society for Horticultural Science Acta Horticulturae

Asparagus is a perishable, seasonal that lies amongst the first fifteen commercialized vegetables inArgentina, a market that needs dietary diversification given that 70% of annual consumption is concentrated in justfive species: potato, tomato, onion, squash and carrot. The aim of the current work is to analyse the commercial situation inArgentina based upon the incoming volume registered by Buenos Aires Central Market, the main national point of reference.To this end the following aspects were evaluated: tendency in incoming volume between 2000 and 2016 (TIV), region of origin(RO), volume and country of origin of imports (VI and OI) and the evolution of commercialized volume and mean pricethrough 2016 (EP). Data were analyzed by ANOVA-LSD (P≥0.05). In TIV, the mean annual incoming volume was 685t, witha decreasing tendency, where the period 2000-2007 was outstanding, with an annual mean of 8% compared to the total of thestudy period. 93% of the total commercialized volume corresponded to the period September to December, demonstratingthe marked seasonality of the production. For RO, the following provinces stood out: San Juan (51%) and Buenos Aires (43%),followed by Córdoba (5%), Corrientes (2%), Mendoza (0,2%), Salta and Santa Fe (0.1%). For OI, of the total received by theCentral Market, 97.6% corresponded to asparagus produced in Argentina, and only 2.4% was imported, in counter-season,from May to August, from Chile (May) and Peru (May-August). VI in 2016 was 8.7t/year in total (Peru 8.3 and Chile 0.4).Regarding EP, the annual mean for 2016 was 3.62 US$.kg-1, with the lowest price in December (1.6 US$.kg-1) and the highestin August (5.13 US$.kg-1). These results indicate the need to intensify the implementation of strategies aimed at promoting theproduction and consumption of asparagus in Argentina; regarding the former, this is because it is a perennial crop of greateconomic and social value, and, regarding the latter, since it is a non-traditional vegetable of high nutritional quality. Given thenotably seasonal nature of its internal production, it could be added that the Argentinean asparagus market also represents anopportunity for producers and exporters from other countries, as well as for those national entrepreneurs who orientate theirproduction towards obtaining early produce under glasshouse conditions