Negotiations by the Mexican government and local producers to abolish the 30 per cent tariff on Mexican avocado shipments entering China should be finalised by the end of this year.
President of Mexico’s National Agriculture Council, Benjamin Grayeb, announced at the Latin American Association for the Development of Crop Insurance congress last week that the Mexican government should secure a tariff-free agreement with China by the beginning of 2015.
Grayeb said the growing Chinese market was appealing to Mexican producers, with a population of more than 1.3bn.
“If every person in China eats just one avocado a year, they could consume practically our entire annual harvest,” Benjamin Grayeb said, according to CNN Expansion.
Along with focusing on expanding avocado production, Grayeb said there is a focus on promotional campaigns in China to inform consumers on ways to prepare and eat the Mexican fruit in an effort to grow its appeal.
Mexico ships avocados to China, Korea and Japan, with 40,000 tonnes of avocados entering Japan last year.
