Avocado exports rocketed 26.1% in the first four months of the year in annual terms, totalling 565,000 tonnes and bringing in about US $1.25 billion.

The increase has been attributed to a 15.1% reduction in the export price. The price also fell by 20% in the domestic market.

Last year, 1.36 million tonnes were sold and a 1.5% increase is predicted for 2021.

The avocado has radically grown to become a major Mexican export. In 1999 only 41,118 tonnes of avocado went abroad.

The land used to cultivate avocados is also on the increase, going from 187,000 hectares in 2019 to 190,000 in 2020. The fruit is is largely grown by small scale producers, 64% of whom cultivate it on an area of less than 10 hectares.

Mexico exports avocados to 34 countries; principally to the United States, but also to Japan, France, Honduras and China.

The industry generates 400,000 jobs in Mexico.

With reports from Reforma