The Real Reason You Will See More Avocados At The Grocery Store
If you had a moment in time for the Avocados From Mexico jingle to leave your brain, get ready for the catchy song to renew its lease on your headspace. After years of produce drama, Fresh Fruit Portal reports that the Mexican state of Jalisco received USDA approval to begin exporting avocados to the United States.
As the leading marketer of avocados in the U.S., Avocados From Mexico (AFM) notes that average Americans eat eight pounds of the nutrient-rich fruit per person annually. In 2018, AFM exported 2.5 billion pounds of avocados to the United States, and demand has only increased since then. According to Food & Wine, 89% of the 1.2 million metric tons of avocados imported in 2021 came from Mexico, mainly from Michoacán.
Relations between Mexican avocado exporters and the U.S. are ripe with controversy. Avocado exports from Jalisco were originally slated to begin in 2016, but were halted by the U.S. in a move that Mexican avocado representatives characterized as a play to gain access to the Mexican potato market. When a USDA employee was threatened while conducting avocado plant inspections in February 2022, a short-lived avocado ban had guacamole fans fretting over the fate of their favorite dip. With safety concerns assuaged and supposed ulterior motives resolved, imports of avocados from Jalisco might have a big effect on an already economically huge market.
U.S. approves avocado exports from Jalisco
Avocado lovers can expect their favorite fruit to be in stock at the grocery store after the USDA announced that it would allow the Jalisco region of Mexico to export avocados to the U.S. (per Cision PR Newswire). Avocado exports from Mexico were formerly limited to Michoacán, and Mexican officials are excited about the expansion of the market that will increase the availability of the popular fruit.
According to Healthy Avocado, Mexico is the world's largest avocado supplier, cultivating 144,000 hectares of the fruit. The Latin American country also benefits from a growing environment that allows each avocado tree to produce four blooms, making its harvest season almost year round. Expanding the approved export regions beyond Michoacán will ensure an influx of avocados to the U.S. marketplace all year long, especially during the summer months when the Jalisco growing region is in full swing.
Mexico Now states that after receiving approval from the USDA, producers in Jalisco plan to export 3,000 to 5,000 tons of avocados to the U.S. weekly. Fans of the "green gold" can rest assured that all their avocado recipes can go without substitute with the addition of a new export region.