Mexican avocado production and exports have risen by 40.8 per cent and 13 per cent respectively between January and August this year, according to data from the Mexican Ministry of Agriculture’s Food, Farming and Fisheries Information Service (SIAP).
Production was recorded at 899,444 tonnes as of August this year, compared with 638,969 tonnes at the same time in 2008, according to SIAP.
By the end of this year, SIAP estimates Mexico will have produced 1.19m tonnes of avocados, which is an increase of 2.2 per cent on 2008.
Up to August this year, exports have reached 277,034 tonnes, SIAP said, up 14 per cent on the year-earlier period.
The leading market destinations included the US, Japan and Canada, which have absorbed 79.4 per cent, 7 per cent and 5.2 per cent of the volume respectively between January and August 2009, according to SIAP.
Value-wise, exports have risen by 35 per cent each yearbetween 2000 and 2008, growing from US$73.7m in 2000 to some US$812.2min 2008.
Avocados currently represent 13.1 per cent of Mexican fresh produce shipments, SIAP said, compared with just 5.3 per cent in 2003.
During the January to September period of this year, SIAP also recorded an increase in Mexican fresh vegetable sendings to US$576.2m in value, up by US$70.6m on the year earlier.
The value of fresh melon, watermelon and papaya exports, meanwhile, rose by US62.2m to some US$375.4m, SIAP said.
