Avocado prices surge to a 24-year high
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Loading... - Alban Dupont
- 30 Mar 2022
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Avocado prices jumped to the highest in more than two decades amid tightening supplies in Mexico, the world’s biggest exporter of the fruit, signaling pricier guacamole.
An index tracking avocado from the Mexican state of Michoacan, by far the biggest source in the country, climbed 81% this year to 760 pesos ($38) per 9-kilogram box, the highest in data going back to 1998, government figures showed.
“Lower availability and supply-side inflationary pressures are the main suspects,” said David Magana, an analyst at Rabobank International.
Mexican avocado output is seen dropping by 8% in the 2021-22 crop year from a record high the previous season, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department. American importers of the fruit are still catching up from a temporary ban on shipments from Michoacan last month stemming from threats against U.S. inspectors.
Mexico accounts for more than 80% of the avocados consumed in the U.S. In California, which feeds about 15% of American demand, production is forecast to rise this year “but clearly not enough to satisfy growing avocado demand in the U.S.,” Magana said.
Companies already are feeling the pinch from higher prices. First Watch Restaurant Group said its costs are rising toward the high end of its projections. Read More...
