Posts Tagged “Mexican avocado exports”
Mexico has surpassed record avocado exports to the U.S. so far in 2023, according to the trade association Avocados From Mexico (AFM) based in Dallas.
Imports to the United States are expected to increase this year, which would mark the beginning of a new record, due to increasing international demand over 2022.
Export volumes to the U.S. this year could exceeded 1.19 billion tons.
Avocados are gaining in popularity, mainly with celebrations and events, when consumption soars. The Super Bowl and Cinco de Mayo are the United States’ leading avocado events.
The Association of Mexican Avocado Producers and Packers and Exporters is the only Mexican cooperating partner with the United States, as well as with the USDA-APHIS for Mexican avocado exports. It is also responsible for avocado promotions in other countries under the Avocados From Mexico brand. Currently, the association involves almost 35,000 growers and 84 packing houses.
Mexico exports nearly one-half of the world’s avocado exports, amounting to a record of $3.495 billion in 2022. More and more in these exports are going to the U.S. and less in the rest of the world, according to El Economista.
Of all overseas shipments of Mexican avocados in the past year, 86.1 percent went to the U.S. market, in value terms, a share that exceeded the previous all-time high of 80.2 percent in 2014.
The growing avocado exports from Mexico are based on purchases by American consumers, but at the same time this explains the decreasing geographical diversification of Mexican external sales of this fruit.
Of all world avocado exports in the past year, Mexico had a 47.5 percent share in 2022, with sales of $3.008 billion to the U.S.
The market value of the other destinations for avocado exporters from Mexico is substantially lower: Canada ($287 million), Japan ($87 million), Spain ($41 million), El Salvador ($26 million), Honduras ($11 million), and the rest of the nations reach less than $10 million each.
The U.S. began the gradual opening of its market in 1997, after having applied an embargo on Mexican avocados for 83 years. The last stage occurred on January 31, 2007, when it allowed imports to California,
In 2003, the U.S. only represented 30.2 percent of Mexican avocado exports. Then sales were diversified to destinations such as Japan (20.5 percent), France (14.9 percent) and Canada (9.7 percent).
Jalisco entered the U.S. market for the first time , on June 28, 2022,
29 years after the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) opened the doors for Mexico, the world’s biggest producer of avocados, to import the fruit into the U.S.
Jalisco Avocado Exporting Producers Association reports before exports to the U.S. began, Europe accounted for about 30% of its exports, Japan 31% and Canada with 33%, totaling around 115,000 tons of avocados divided among the three countries.
With the opening of the U.S. market, 50% of total exports are now destined for the U.S., with Canada and Japan going down to around 19%, while European exports have reduced drastically to around 8%.
The association notes European exports decreased due to logistical issues with the pandemic, both in terms of time and costs. In some cases, this affected the quality of the arriving fruit, reducing costs, which is why Jalisco exporters have decided to allocate more of their fruit to the U.S. which has because less risk.
For the U.S. market, the fruit travels for less than 24 hours, while the European market transit can take up to 25 days.
Avocados from Jalisco complement Michoacan (the main producing region), because the season starts in July, and usually, between May and July, there is not enough volume from Mexico to supply the U.S. market.
So the new exporting region intends to fill up that gap so Mexican avocados are available to the U.S. year-round.
Mexico exported just over one million tons of avocado to the U.S. in 2020. With this, the combined annual commercial value totaled $3.1 billion dollars, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The federal agency reports the success of exported Mexican avocados has been based on its quality, safety measures and a larger area devoted to cultivation, with a total 248,456 hectares.
Along with this extensive growing area, the country’s sustainable practices and an efficient and effective use of water resources have allowed the industry to secure surplus volumes in order to set annual records in the international market.
Of total exports, 95% corresponded to fresh whole avocados, 4% to guacamole and 2% to pulp.
Data from the USDA shows from January to November last year, 82% of the total fresh avocado imported came from Mexico, with a value of $2.7 billion dollars.
According to data from the Servicio de Información Agroalimentaria y Pesquera (SIAP), in 2022 the sale of guacamole showed a year-on-year increase of 8%, going from 35,809 tons to 38,723 tons, while avocado pulp was marketed in quantities averaging 338 tons per week.
The origin of the fruit was exclusively from Michoacan fields certified by Mexican and U.S. health authorities.
However, in the second half of 2022, the USDA approved imports from Jalisco, expanding the scope of the Mexican industry in the U.S.
In the case of guacamole, which is a sauce that combines avocado pulp, garlic, onion, chile, tomato, lime juice and salt, 2,975 tons were destined for the U.S. market in the three weeks prior to the Super Bowl, while in the same period last year, pulp exports averaged 371 tons per week.
During the past decade Mexican avocado exports have tripled, according to the Mexican news source El Economista.
The site reports total Mexican avocado exports for January to November 2020 topped over 1.2 million metric tons (MT). This is a significant rise from the 369,000MT registered for all of 2010 and, based on data from the Mexican Ministry of Agriculture, represents a record increase of 6.3 percent over the previous year.
In 2020, though, Mexican foreign sales of avocado fell 7.4 percent to about $2.7 billion from January to November. Most avocados sold in the United States are imported from other countries, particularly Mexico.
For example, in 2018, 76 percent of national avocado consumption was imported from Mexico. Since then, the US Hass avocado industry has grown, reaching a total market value of $ 6.5 billion in 2019.
The USDA has placed the compound annual growth rate for total avocado consumption between 2008 and 2018 at 9.4 percent, rising from 1.1 billion pounds to 2.6 billion pounds. Contributing to this growth were factors such as an increased interest in healthy eating and foods high in nutrients.
Demographic changes also played a part according to El Economista, with 75 percent of Hispanic households purchasing avocados. The US Hass avocado market is projected to continue its growth with an expected 5.5 percent annual increase between 2019 and 2023.
A modest 3 percent increase over last season is being forecast by the USDA for Mexican avocados.
Mexico is the leading producer and exporter of avocados globally, with nearly 964,000 metric tons valued at over $2.4 billion exported to the United States in 2019-20, a historical record for both quantity and value.
Mexican avocado production is predicted to rise by 3 percent over last season in the 2020-21 season to 2.41m metric tons (MT). The predicted increase for the crop year running from July through June is due to continued expansion in planted area and optimal weather conditions without hail or frost during the growing season.
Planted and harvested areas are expected to increase to 243,640 hectares (ha) and 232,495 ha, respectively, with a national yield of 10.36 MT/ha. Avocado production in 2019-20 reached 2.32m MT, 6 percent greater compared to 2018-19 on the increased planted area.
The peak harvest period is from October to February, with an average supply from March to May. The the low volume season is from June to September.
Production in the state of Michoacán, the only state with U.S. market access, was seven percent higher compared to the previous marketing year, and production and exports are expected to grow even further in 2020-21. Despite Covid-19 pandemic challenges to agricultural harvests and supply chains, avocado demand in the United States remained strong and is forecast to increase.
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Mexican avocado exports to American companies will hit 78,000 tons in preparation for Cinco de Mayo, the biggest Mexican celebration in the U.S.
The event is a commemoration of Mexico’s victory over France at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.
The Mexican avocado imports this year is a 25 percent increase over this time in 2018 when 58,730 tons of the fruit was imported. The big boost is being attributed primarily to greater promotions by retailers.
Mexican exports over 80 percent of their avocados to the U.S. each year.
The Mexican state of Michoacán exported 121,0908 tons of avocado to the U.S. for the Super Bowl LIII.
In the U.S., this celebration has become a time where Mexican people celebrate their heritage. It is so big and important that it gets confused with the celebration of Mexico’s Independence.
Mexican avocado, other produce through South Texas – grossing about $4900 to New York City.