US: Low imported and domestic avocado supply continues to push prices higher
Supplies are continuing to be tight on imported avocados. “From Mexico right now, we’re seeing decli…Supplies are continuing to be tight on imported avocados. “From Mexico right now, we’re seeing decline in what’s been available to ship to the U.S.,” says Dan Acevedo of Newport Beach, Ca.-based Greenfruit Avocados. “And we’ll continue to see that decline until we start to harvest the new crop in mid to late June.”
Consumption continues to rise
For now, Acevedo notes that growers are trying to stretch the remainder of this crop through to the end of the season, which happens in that late June time period. That’s tough given the pressures on demand arising at this time of year. “There are a couple of dynamic shifts that add to consumption continuing to rise. One, in Mexico, Easter is a big holiday for their resort cities such as Acapulco, Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo. They’re using what’s called U.S.-certified fruit for that domestic demand,” says Acevedo. Traditionally the resorts had used non-certified fruit but that supply isn’t there this year. “Additionally in the U.S., Cinco de Mayo has grown to be close in size to Superbowl. Compounded with a growth in global demand such as China, Japan, Canada, we’re going to have limited supply to the U.S.”
Prices going up even more
All that pressure of course increasingly pushes prices on avocados upwards. “Prices continue to be high and right now it’s going to stay high and we don’t see a shift in that until the new crop comes in,” says Acevedo. He notes that the domestic crop from California that is also down in supply also plays a role in the spiking prices. “There’s less supply of California fruit during this period which traditionally picks up the slack from harvesting season in Mexico,” he says. “So we’re seeing really high prices and expecting them to continue to elevate higher than we’re seeing today.”