January is always a big month for Mexican avocado imports in the United States, as retailers stock up on the commodity in preparation for Superbowl Sunday. But this year's shipments could top the volumes seen in the last few years.“Volumes this year could hit some records,” noted Dave Fausset, sales manager for Mission Produce. “The Superbowl is a big reason for large volumes right now, and people want to eat healthier following the holidays, so there's more demand.” Fausset estimated that about 50 million pounds of avocados made their way into the United States from Mexico during the first two full weeks of the month. For those same weeks last year, he noted that volumes were about 45 million and 48 million pounds.
Volumes last week began to wind down. Shipments will continue to decline in the coming weeks, and as they do prices will stabilize after the influx of big volumes work their way through the system. On January 23, prices for a carton of Hass 32s from Mexico were between $31.25 and $32.25 at crossings through Texas. A carton of 60s was between $25.25 and $28.25, a carton of 70s was between $20.25 and $23.25, and a carton of 84s was between $14.25 and $16.25.
“Prices started to come down last week with all the volume in the system,” said Fausset. “But they will stabilize as we retreat from packing and shipping so much fruit.”
For more information:
Dave Fausset
Mission Produce
+1 805 981 3655