The pear shaped fruit is not regarded as very exotic anymore at the greengrocers. The traditional countries that grow avocados are tropical countries. “Currently 80% of the Hass avocados come from Peru,” explains the importer, “the other 20% come from countries like Kenya or South Africa.” Especially the dark skinned Hass avocados enjoy the growing popularity among consumers. As a result the consumption of the green avocado decreases. The "Green-Skin“-avocados are produced in Kenya and South Africa according to the importer.
Demand: “An international story”
“The demand for avocados is very high all over Europe,” explains the trader, “Not only in Germany, if the demand rises in Germany then the demand will rise in other European countries too. It is an international story.” The importer counts supermarkets, wholesalers and caterers as its customers.
Bottleneck increases the prices
“It is difficult to assess the market situation in the coming weeks,” said the dealer. Nevertheless, he expects that the prices will remain high in the next two to three weeks. The high and maybe even increasing prices have a negative influence on the consumption, says the trader. “The bottleneck influences our prices too. If our purchase prices increase then the prices in at the greengrocers will rise, and that influences the consumption.” Nevertheless he believes that this will influence the demand for avocados only slightly.