U.S. imports had significant increases in Hass avocados from all Latin American origins through September this year, the USDA reports.
Total imports from the region rose by 20 percent over last year during a nine-month period.
The growth came amid the lowest California avocado shipments in a decade, which created a supply gap for overseas producers.
A lot of the increase was due to Mexico with its rising avocado volume.
But there were also substantial increases in percentage terms from Peru, Chile, the Dominican Republic, and Colombia.
U.S. imports from Peru – the next biggest origin – rose by 24 percent, which is more than triple the amount imported from Peru in 2016, and also comes amid a 15 percent reduction in total Peruvian exports this season.
Chilean exports to the U.S. rose by 61 percent in 2019 through September. This increase came despite the Chilean avocado indsutry also forecasting lower total supplies from a year ago for the 2019-20 season.
Meanwhile, the U.S. imported five-times more Hass avocados from the Dominican Republic.
And U.S. imports from Colombia rose eight-fold from in August 2017 under a restrictive export protocol. This was eased a little earlier last year and an significant increase in avocado shipments to the U.S. is seen over the next few years.