Mexico achieved a record-breaking avocado export to the United States in the 12 months leading up to the end of June, according to Avocados from Mexico (AFM), an organization dedicated to promoting the “green gold” grown in Mexico, as the fruit is known due to its profitability.
Approximately 1.13 million tons, or nearly 2.5 billion pounds, of Mexican avocados were shipped to the United States in the year ending on June 30, as reported by AFM, the US-based marketing arm of the Association of Avocado Producers and Packers of Mexico (APEAM).
This volume is over 2% higher than the previous record for a 12-month period, covering July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023.
“We are very excited as we have broken our historical record,” said Álvaro Luque, the CEO of AFM, in an interview with The Produce News. “And we believe we will break the record again this year,” he added, referring to the period ending on June 30, 2024.
Luque told The Produce News that the avocado harvest in Michoacán, the state with the highest avocado production in Mexico, appears to be similar to last year’s, while export volumes from Jalisco to the United States are rapidly growing. Jalisco started exporting avocados to the US a little over year ago after becoming the second Mexican state to obtain certification for doing so.
He said that setting a new record for US avocado exports in the 12 months ending next June would be particularly special as AFM is celebrating its tenth anniversary.
Luque, who has held the top staff position of AFM since January of 2014, emphasized that AFM is committed to increasing the consumption of Mexican avocados in the US through what he describes as “tentpole moments,” events that trigger an increase in avocado sales in supermarkets in the United States.
The most well-known event of this kind is the Super Bowl, which many Americans watch at home while enjoying guacamole. Over 250 million pounds (113.4 million kilograms or over 113,000 tons) of Mexican avocados were exported to the US in the weeks leading up to last February’s big game. Mexican avocado exports to the US also surged in the period leading up to Cinco de Mayo, with a volume increase of over 60% compared to 2022 and 18% compared to the previous record set in 2021.
Luque said that AFM is conducting a robust promotion campaign this summer as it coincides with the peak production in Jalisco. The organization has previously toned down its promotion in the summer months since Mexican export volumes usually decline and more products from California and Peru enter the US market.
“The US market is big enough for us and other players,” Luque said to The Produce News.
“As the market has grown, we still hold an 85% market share. But I don’t worry about market share. Our goal is to make the pie bigger,” he said.
According to a statement by Mexico’s federal Secretariat of Agriculture and Rural Development (SADER), Mexico is the world’s largest avocado producer, with 2.54 million tons produced in 2022. APEAM represents over 34,000 Mexican avocado farmers and more than 80 packers, according to the Mexican Avocado Institute.
The United States is easily the largest export market for Mexican avocado producers, but the Mexican green gold is also sent to many other countries, including Canada, Japan, Spain, France, and China.
With reports from The Produce News and Daily Mexico.
