Amid speculation that the new US president, Donald Trump, will block shipments of Mexican products to his country, including avocados, many have said that this measure could benefit countries like Peru and Chile.
The general manager of the Association of Producers of Hass Avocado from Peru (ProHass), Arturo Medina Castro, said this scenario wouldn't benefit Peru in any way.
"Peru's and Mexico's avocado supply don't overlap. Our production takes place in the counter season, that means that when Peru produces avocados, Mexico has no production and vice versa," he said.
To explain the importance of Mexican avocados, he recalled that in 2015, 80% of the avocados consumed in the United States had come from Mexico, while only 10% of their demand was covered by local production, which shows that the US is not self-sufficient. That same year, Peru was the second largest supplier of avocados to the United States.
Last week, more than 120 tons of Mexican avocados from Jalisco were unable to enter the United States. According to Mexico's Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food "(SAGARPA), the avocados couldn't enter the US because it lacked an export documentation and not because of a political issue.
Source: agraria.pe