There is huge untapped sales potential for avocados in Europe, according to Gabriel Burunat, president of French importer Commercial Fruits, which pioneered Peruvian avocado imports into Europe.
Northern and Eastern Europe, as well as Italy are new markets to the nutritious fruit. Once consumers there get a taste for avocados, take-up will be enormous, he says.
The widespread introduction of ripe-and-ready-to-eat avocado packs three years ago led to a surge in consumption across established markets, and is expected to drive demand in the new ones, Burunat says.
“Prior to ready-to-eat packs, the French and European avocado markets were stagnating. Over the last three years, European import volumes have increased by 100,000 tonnes thanks to their introduction.”
Commercial Fruits imported the first Peruvian avocados into Europe in the early 2000s. To date, Peru accounts for 30 per cent of Europe’s annual avocado imports, according to Burunat.
