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.