"We compete for supply with the fresh and export markets which have grown significantly over the past 10 years," he said.
"As a business supplying the grocery market, we have found we are constrained by the price that consumers are willing to pay for canned product."
The decision had been years in the making and followed a season where significant canned product had to be imported to meet demand.
"We were only able to source one third of our requirements here. We understand and appreciate that the fresh, processed and export markets are options for growers.
"This has resulted in a continually diminishing supply base which has now reached a level where we have taken this decision."
Wattie's said it would be labelling cans with, "Product of Peru" in order to be transparent with consumers, despite local regulations not requiring them to do so.
Asparagus Council Hawke's Bay representative and grower Lindsay Kay sent about 20 tonnes for canning with Wattie's last season at about $3.10 a kilogram.
"We can get $5 on the local market, we can get less for it too.
"I'm hoping to get a good result out of it, sometimes we are too passive in business, particularly farmers, it's given us a kick up the backsides to get out and seek other avenues."
Mr Kay said while there were other options, with an independent local cannery discussing the possibility of picking up the slack, it would still have a flow-on effect.
"It's also the people that work for us ... we have the first crop of the season, then go on to thinning fruit, there's a whole sequence that's part of continuous employment," Mr Kay said.
One of the most concerning aspects about tinned produce in New Zealand was the lack of enforcement around country of origin labelling. "What we need to do is to push for that labelling, so it's not so easy for [firms] to do what they have done. They just don't have the accountability."
The Service and Food Workers Union's spokesman for the food sector, Chas Muir, said he was not aware of any job losses as a result of the Wattie's move.
"I'm unaware of any consultation process which is what they would have to go through if there was to be any impact on jobs," he said.
"The bigger picture stuff for growers in Hawke's Bay - it's a big loss for the region."