Avocado sales have soared in N. America

On Feb. 1, with an estimated 184 million people watching in the U.S., the industry group Avocados From Mexico will air a Super Bowl ad. It seems that it will be the first commercial for produce in the history of the annual advertising bonanza. These spots cost $4.5 million for 30 seconds of airtime. The avocado industry can afford it.

In the past decade, the creamy green fruit has soared in popularity across North America. Riding the dual waves of a Mexican cuisine boom and growing demand for healthy food, Canadian imports nearly tripled between 2004 and 2013, from 19,140 to 57,520 tonnes, according to Statistics Canada.

Canadians now consume almost 250 million avocados a year. As the Washington Post reported last week, Americans are even more ravenous for the things: last year they ate some 4.25 billion. (That’s compared to about 28.5 billion bananas a year.)

Most observers agree that the fruit’s ubiquity has been spurred by the growing international popularity of Mexican food. Taquerias and burrito stands have sprouted all over Toronto in the past decade, and guacamole has become a dinner party staple.

The vast majority of avocados eaten in Canada are the Hass variety, distinguished by its dark, bumpy skin and buttery taste. Caribbean avocados have a lighter green skin, more watery taste and are eaten like fruit.

The perception of healthfulness, largely borne out scientific research, is another reason avocados have attained such a prominent place in the North American diet.

To that end, avocado producers have taken great pains to ensure that ripe, high-quality avocados are available year-round, even during Canadian winters.

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