Mexico, the Netherlands and Peru are at the top of the global ranking of the world’s leading avocado exporters in 2021, measured by value.
Topping them all is Mexico, with international sales of the fruit valued at $2.976 billion, up 12% year over year.
Avocado is a relatively new crop, which became important in the early 20th century.
The most internationally traded avocado breeds are the Guatemalan and Mexican Hass, Fuerte and Nabal varieties.
In particular, the Hass variety, a mixture of different avocado varieties developed by Rudolph Hass, is considered to be the most popular variety internationally, due to its sustained productivity, its low alternation, its qualities to tolerate transport and conservation, as well as the excellent quality of its flesh.
After Mexico, the Netherlands exported avocado for 1,164 million dollars, a 10% growth compared to 2020, and Peru recorded foreign sales for 1,048 million dollars, an increase of 48% year-on-year, according to data from the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Avocado exporters
The compact growth of the avocado tree allows for increased population densities and facilitates cultivation.
Mexico is currently the world’s leading producer of avocado fruit.
According to FAO data, Mexico produced 2 million 184,663 tons of avocado in 2018 and 2 million 300,889 tons in 2019, equivalent to more than 30% of world production for both years.
Other prominent avocado exporters in 2021 are: Spain ($462 million, +4% year-on-year), Chile ($214 million, -2%), Colombia ($205 million (+40%), the United States ($157 million, -4%), Kenya ($140 million, +21%), South Africa ($110 million, +44%) and France ($94 million, +4 percent).
Avocado can be grown all year round and adapts to a wide range of soils, from sandy to clay soils, as long as they have good internal drainage, a factor that is of vital importance, since avocados do not tolerate excessively wet soils or flooding, even if it is of short duration.
For its cultivation, light-textured, deep, well-drained soils with a neutral or slightly acid pH are recommended, although it can grow in well-drained clay or clay loam soils.
The WTO estimates that global avocado sales were US$7,261 million in 2021, an increase of 13% annually.
