Mission Produce of Oxnard, CA is diversifying where it sources avocados to ensure more consistent avocado supplies, spurred in big part by a Mexican labor strike earlier this year.
While the company wants to have a year-round supply, but also is taking steps to have multiple sources for avocados to ensure more consistent of supply.
This was a big issue in the avocado category for imported product by the U.S. coming from Mexico. Labor strikes last season caused significant disruptions. To help avoid such issues in the future, Mission has been increasing its plantings in other countries.
The company has planted 1,500 hectares (about 3,700 acres) in Colombia and has also increased its acreage in Peru from 2,600 hectares to more than 3,000 hectares (about 7,400 acres).
Mexico easily remains the dominant avocado supplier for the U.S., having exported nearly 2 billion pounds of the fruit to the U.S. in 2018, according to the USDA. Peru, the most significant source of avocados aside from Mexico, exported roughly 180 million pounds of fruit to the U.S. last year.