ASIAN CROPS SPROUTING UP ALL OVER; REGIONAL FARMS BOOMING WITH SPECIALTY VEGETABLES.

Byline: Don Holland Daily News Staff Writer

Choy-sum, yu-choy and gai-lan aren't exactly household words - yet.

But these and other leafy vegetables have helped make Asian produce one of the fastest-growing and potentially profitable crops in Ventura County.

Eight years ago, there were so few growers of Asian vegetables that the county agricultural commissioner lumped production statistics in with miscellaneous farm produce. Since then, the value of local production has jumped from $3 million in 1991 to more than $14 million in 1997.

In California, Ventura County is now second only to San Bernardino County in acreage dedicated to Asian produce - and it promises to get even better. Just last week, a seminar was held in Ventura to inform local growers about the benefits of growing, marketing and exporting Asian produce to Asia itself.

``Asia is a great market for anything,'' said Cherie Watte, director of the state's agricultural export program and a speaker at the workshop. ``I would assume if we can market anything there, it's our fresh produce.''

Already, she said, in years when typhoons have pounded crops in Asia, local growers have shipped to Taiwan and Hong Kong.

But growers say that, like everything else, the levels of supply and demand have to be just right in order to make Asian produce a profitable crop.

Since 1986, Tom Lam has been growing Asian vegetables on half his 1,000 acres at BLT Farms in Oxnard. In the early days, he said, a relatively high demand and a scarcity of growers kept prices high. Now, the demand and competition from other growers makes the operation a little riskier.

``Right there,'' he said, pointing to a partially picked crop in the distance. ``We harvested half and the demand wasn't there. So we had to (abandon it) and go to a new crop. It used to be it never happened like that.''

Asian produce grown in Mexico and shipped into the United States has put more pressure on local growers, who must pay higher wages and deal with strict pesticide and other regulations, Lam said.

``A worker (in Mexico) works one day and doesn't even get $5,'' Lam said while strolling through the verdant fields of his farm. ``How can we compete with Mexico? The American farmer just sits here and doesn't know what to say.''

Les Lee, owner of Growers Fresh Marketing in Oxnard, ships his crops of Asian produce all over the country and Canada. Virtually all of it ends up in Asian grocery stores or Chinese restaurants. Though demand remains strong, Lee has cut back in recent years from 140 acres of Asian vegetables to about 100 acres today.

``It's still a pretty good market,'' said Lee, who has grown Asian produce for seven years. ``I wouldn't say it's an excellent market like it used to be.''

According to officials, local growers harvested 15,428 tons of Asian vegetables in 1995, a 66 percent increase from the year before. But at the same time, the price per ton slipped nearly 13 percent. Since then, production of Asian vegetables in Ventura County has nearly tripled, while prices have edged up only slightly.

Fertile ground for Asian produce

Following shows the production of Asian vegetables in Ventura County:

Year Harvested Tons $/ton Total value

acres (in millions)

1991 1,093 8,344 $360 $3.0

1992 799 9,795 $400 $3.9

1993 913 10,308 $617 $6.4

1994 876 9,275 $450 $4.2

1995 884 15,428 $400 $6.2

1996 1,733 20,597 $347 $7.1

1997 2,379 33,970 $417 $14.2

Source: Ventura County Agricultural Commissioner

CAPTION(S):

Photo, Box

PHOTO (Ran in Conejo and SAC Editions only) Tom Lam, owner of BLT Farms, has seen rising competition among farmers growing Asian crops.

Don Holland/Daily News

BOX: FERTILE GROUND FOR ASIAN PRODUCE (See text)