Mexico plans to send a huge volume of avocados to the U.S. in the lead up to the Super Bowl, as reported by Mexico Daily News.
The Mexican Association of Avocado Producers, Packers, and Exporters (APEAM) expects more than 132,000 tons of avocados to be sent to the U.S. before next month’s big game. This would reflect a 4 percent increase when compared to 2020, when about 127,000 tons were exported to the U.S. before Super Bowl LIV, won by the Kansas City Chiefs.
Gabriel Villaseñor, APEAM chief, told newspaper Milenio that “As is the case every year, we’ll have the final figure for 2021 after the Super Bowl.”
He also added that 1.2 million tons of avocados are predicted to be picked during the 2020-2021 season, which has its peak from October to February, with over 1 million tons being exported, mainly to the U.S.
With Michoacán being the only Mexican state with certification to export avocados to the U.S., 84 percent of the avocados grown there are exported to the U.S.
Mexico, which is easily the world’s largest producer of avocados, increased its exports of the fruit by 12 percent in 2020 when compared to the same period in 2019, despite the impact of the pandemic on the global economy.
The U.S. is the main market, followed by Canada, Japan, and China, while the fruit is also sent to Europe, South America, and the Middle East.
While prices have begun to recover just in time for one of the most important times for exports during the year, Villaseñor noted that, while the pandemic didn’t slow down exports in 2020, it did have a negative impact on their price towards the end of the year.
