High prices send supermarket sales of avocados down by 20% in Japan
The retail price for an avocado in Japan has risen from the 100- to 150-yen ($0.83-1.25) range in March to the 150- to 200-yen range today, showing no signs of slowing down. In supermarkets in Japan, avocado sales have dropped 10% to 20% in the past couple of months because of the high prices.
According to wholesalers demand for the fruit has been on the rise the last few years and in 2016, Japan imported 74,000 tons of the fruit, up 2.5 times from a decade earlier. With the increasing popularity in China Japanese wholesalers are nervous. They believe that China could soon take over Japan in avocado consumption.
The price hike is also affecting restaurants in the country. Many eateries are refraining from raising prices of dishes that include avocados, according to wholesalers. But with avocado prices expected to keep rising, at least until new crops arrive in summer, wholesalers wonder how long the restaurant industry can hold out.
source: asia.nikkei.com
