Pubdate: Tue, 20 Mar 2001 Source: Sacramento Bee (CA) Copyright: 2001 The Sacramento Bee Contact: P.O.Box 15779, Sacramento CA 95852 Feedback: http://www.sacbee.com/about_us/sacbeemail.html Website: http://www.sacbee.com/ Forum: http://www.sacbee.com/voices/voices_forum.html Author: Michael Doyle STATE'S ASPARAGUS GROWERS STUNG BY FAR-OFF DRUG WAR WASHINGTON -- The war on drugs is taking a toll on San Joaquin Valley asparagus growers -- in a manner of speaking. Federal auditors note in a new report that asparagus imports soared by 215 percent during the 1990s. Much of this came from Peru, benefiting from a trade law designed to wean Andean countries from the illegal drug trade. "If the (trade law) is re-authorized, domestic producers of asparagus, and in particular, asparagus for processing, will likely face continued displacement," the General Accounting Office noted in its new report, "but consumers can expect continued benefits from the year-around availability of fresh asparagus." The report comes as Congress prepares to debate renewal of the Andean Trade Preference Act this year. It also comes as San Joaquin Valley asparagus producers begin their 2001 harvest and plot their own trade strategies. "We recognize there are certain (trade) agreements that have impacted our ability to market," said Cherie Watte, executive director of the Stockton-based California Asparagus Commission, but "we are aggressively moving to market U.S. asparagus both domestically and internationally." More than half of California's entire asparagus crop is harvested in San Joaquin County. Fresno County is the fourth-leading producer of asparagus, in a state where the crop is valued at about $133 million annually. With about one-quarter of California's asparagus crop exported, the growers are particularly attuned to the vagaries of international trade. Watte herself formerly handled international trade issues for Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman, when Veneman headed the California Department of Food and Agriculture. Using federal funds from the Agriculture Department's Market Access Promotion program, the commission this year plans campaigns in Japan and Switzerland, the top two export markets. "We created the fresh green (asparagus) market a number of years ago," Watte said of Switzerland's surprising place as the No. 2 buyer of California asparagus. "It's really phenomenal." In other cases, though, some asparagus growers see danger in trade. The new GAO report notes that "the industry is seeking to remove asparagus from eligibility under the trade act." This means California lawmakers could face the choice between helping Peruvian farmers find alternatives to coca or helping California growers fend off foreign competition. The 10-year-old Andean Trade Preference Act eliminates or reduces trade tariffs on certain products from Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Colombia. As a result, imports soared during the decade, from 44 million pounds in 1990 to 142 million pounds in 1999. This has displaced between 2 percent and 8 percent of the U.S. crop, the report shows, but auditors note the imports have increased consumer demand for fresh asparagus. "U.S. consumers have benefited from (the law) because fresh asparagus is now available during the months when it is generally unavailable from domestic producers," the GAO reported. Agriculture Department officials, however, responded that "asparagus is not grown in coca regions" in Peru and therefore may not really becoming a substitute for the illegal crop. If so, that would undermine the purpose of the Andean Trade Preference Act and give U.S. growers more ammunition if they choose to exempt themselves from the act's provisions. - --- MAP posted-by: Kirk Bauer