For Cinco de Mayo, US Avocado Import Volumes Jump as Much as 48%

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The US is importing record volumes of Mexican avocados ahead of the Cinco de Mayo (May 5) holiday, one of the year’s biggest days for celebrating with guacamole. Gro data shows that avocado border crossing volumes year to date are up 48% at Pharr and 36% at Laredo, the top two ports of entry in Texas, compared with the year-ago period. 

Prices have slipped on the higher volumes. US retail prices for conventional Hass avocados averaged $0.98/unit as of April 30, which is 13% below the 10-year average for that date. Prices of organic Hass avocados, which often face supply shortfalls, are 9% below average, at $1.59/unit. Gro data shows consistent price strength for organic avocados in the US Southwest region since the start of the year, but generally weaker prices in the Northeast. 

Wholesale avocado prices out of Michoacán, the main producing state, moved sharply higher beginning in March. That, in turn, has bumped up average border-crossing prices to seasonal levels of $39.25 per 2-layer carton of Hass avocados, size 60, and $34.25 for size 48

As the Mexican season winds down, California’s avocado harvest, which makes up about 10% of avocados consumed in the US, is just getting underway. The California crop is expected to be about 10% smaller than last year, at about 280 million pounds, and that is likely to maintain support for US avocado prices. 

With some 85% of avocados in the US originating from Mexico, Gro’s wide ranging data on Mexican production, wholesale prices, and exports provides valuable insights into the fast-growing international market for avocados. Gro also offers retail price data for the US that enables users to compare prices between different regions. 

This insight was powered by the Gro platform, which enables better and faster decisions about factors affecting the entire global agricultural ecosystem. Gro organizes over 40,000 datasets from sources around the world into a unified ontology, which allows users to derive valuable insights such as this one. You can explore the data available on Gro with a free account, or please get in touch if you would like to learn more about a specific crop, region, or business issue.



 

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