Green asparagus, long favored in the United States, is gaining more popularity in continental Europe, where white asparagus was once preferred, and is the most popular variety in Japan, the largest Asian market for imported asparagus. The next largest producers in the world are Spain and France. Spain produced 86,000 MTs of asparagus in 1993, and France about 50,000 MTs. Greece is the only other European country that produces asparagus for export in substantial volumes. In South and Central America, Chile, Argentina, Ecuador, Mexico, Guatemala, and Costa Rica also produce asparagus for export.
China is a large Asian producer of asparagus and Europe's largest supplier of canned product.
Taiwan produces 20,000 MTs annually, a substantial percentage of which goes to export. Thailand grows green and white asparagus, and supplies the Japanese and European markets with the gamut of asparagus products green and white, fresh and processed, whole and tips. Indonesia produces 2,100 MTs of asparagus per year, much of which is white and exported in canned form to Europe. The Philippines exports fresh product to Japan, as do Australia and New Zealand. Most U.S. imports arrived between September and March, the off-season in the United States for asparagus production.