Avocado sales could more than double this year, boosted by demand from China’s middle class
China could start producing enough of its own crop to cut into imports of the fruit, but experts say that is unlikely to happen anytime soon
By Jeff Daniels
Avocado sales to China are expected to more than double this year as demand continues to grow for the fruit from the country’s expanding middle-class population.
“It appears to just double every year, from what we’ve seen,” Steve Barnard, president of Oxnard, California-based Mission Produce, the world’s largest distributor of avocados. “It maybe more than double this year.”
And, the pace of growth shows no sign of slowing as more health-conscious consumers in the world’s most populous nation show an interest in the “heart-healthy” avocados, executives say. The fruit also appeals to “young, trendy people,” said Barnard.
One big beneficiary of the growing demand is Mexico , the global leader in avocado production. Even through the U.S. market remains lucrative, avocado marketers in the Mexican state of Jalisco recently hosted a Chinese delegation in hopes of grabbing a piece of the action that now is dominated by the neighbouring state of Michoacan.
“The Chinese market has been growing at a very fast pace,” said Ramon Paz, an advisor for the Avocado Producers and Exporting Packers Association of Mexico (APEAM). “Our numbers show big growth but the total absolute numbers are still modest compared to other markets like the U.S. But of course the potential is huge.”