Chile has overtaken Mexico as China’s number one avocado supplier, according to the California-based Hass Avocado Board (HAB).
Chile emerged in 2016 to become China’s leading avocado source, supplying approximately 11,500 tonnes, with Mexico a close second with just under 10,000 tonnes.
Overall, China’s avocado imports during 2016 totalled more than 25,100 tonnes – an increase of 57 per cent over the previous year.
“Lately, China has been sourcing more avocados from Chile,” Todd Elder of California-based Index Fresh told Fruitnet.
“Chile has been the primary source for China over much of the last year,” agreed Tom Padilla of Mission Produce. “With the Peruvian season finishing up in September, Chile has had an especially nice window ever since.”
Elder added that, despite significant recent import growth, avocados are still new to the Chinese market, and consumers there are buying the fruit for comparatively narrow needs. Ripening fruit for use in salads or snacks is still relatively rare.
“Chinese importers want only very green, hard and cosmetically perfect fruit,” he said. “That’s caused a lot of [Mexican] growers to become hesitant to ship to China, especially when they’ve got such a strong market nearby in the US.”
Used primarily for juicing, China’s avocado imports from Mexico have increased impressively in just a few years. According to APEAM figures, a mere 246 tonnes of avocados were received during 2012. By 2016, that figure had risen by 4,000 per cent to more than 10,200 tonnes.
That number has dropped dramatically as of September this year to just 5,100 tonnes, due in part to the relatively short Mexican crop.
