The United States is the main consumer market for avocados and is increasingly dependent on foreign production. The ratio between import and consumption has increased from 37% in 2001 to more than 90% in 2020, according to figures from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). In terms of production, the US crop has been stable to declining in recent years as the domestic industry in California faces several challenges. “Under these circumstances, the dependence of the US avocado market on imports will only increase in the future as consumption continues to expand.”

This in a context of sustained growth in consumption, which has increased by 8% annually during the last decade. In 2010, each American ate 1.88 kilos on average; in 2018, it was around 3.8 kilos. “Avocado consumption could exceed 5kg per person per year by 2026,” says the report.

Twenty years ago, he mentions that most US avocado imports came from Chile, since Mexico still faced sanitary restrictions in this market. Since the sanitary restrictions for avocados from Michoacán, the main producing region of Mexico, were lifted, exports from this country have dominated the US market. On the contrary, he reports that imports from Chile have practically disappeared, as Chilean producers have focused on other export markets, as well as the expanding domestic market. “In the future, we will see the US importing more avocados from Peru and Colombia”