Peru sends 10,734 tons of avocado to US
Meanwhile, Mexico’s share was 408,457 tons, California’s was 123,316 MT and Chile’s was 14,417 MT.
The Peruvian market share accounted for only 2% of the total, while Mexico, with 73% of the market, had the highest percentage, and is followed by avocados from California with 22% of the market share and Chile with 3%.
Reports are that, this week, the North American markets are being dominated by small fruit, impacting the price of avocados in major markets, considering that the current crop from California is of 60 caliber or smaller, i.e., fruit between 170 and 205 grams.
However, expectations regarding the expected demand for the festivities of May 5 (Mexican Pride Day in the US) are still good and the industry of the State of Michoacán (Mexico) will compete with the fruit from California for the event.
In Texas, the dominance of small fruit had a negative impact on the price of avocados of other sizes; the 60-gauge price registered a fall of nearly 6 US$.
According to the site, the challenge for the industry from Michoacan is to stimulate the demand of the small fruit. Although importers are negotiating their promotions under these conditions, the response from the supermarkets has not been as expected, which is why Mexican importers expect to define their promotions for the festivities on May 5th.
California avocado producers are expected to mobilise a similar volume to that of last week, but so far, their inventory is close to 6,500 tons, 700 less than the previous week.
Meanwhile, Michoacán has a limited presence in the Northwestern US and the freight cost from places like Texas plays an important role in the competition, since price ranges between Texas and California are very similar for some calibers.
Also, the fruit’s movement in the region has been very slow due to the low temperatures, snow and heavy rain that discourage consumers to go out, as is reflected in the poor restaurant attendance.
Another factor that has influenced the slow movement is the price increase, which has made offers become less attractive, which is reflected in the decline in sales of avocado in some supermarket chains.
Importers believe this slowdown is temporary and are taking their precautions to avoid an oversupply of fruit so that they aren’t pressured to sell at discount prices or have losses.
On the other hand, there were reports that some quotes, especially for caliber 48, rose in price from Michoacan, triggering reactions that indicated that it was still too early for the May 5th inventory. However, there are high expectations for these regions since, up to the moment, California’s strategy is to market more volume in their territory.
California avocado growers are looking to increase their participation in the western US, while Michoacan avocado continues a strong presence in the Midwest and Northeastern states away.
Source: agraria.pe
