Mexican avocado exports have tripled in the last ten years, going from 212,036 tonnes in 2004 to nearly 642,840 tonnes last year. That vigorous growth shows that it is a market in full expansion and it appears it's more profitable than the domestic market, which producers dispute. Avocado prices, however, reveal that the biggest businesses are not so far from home as they seem.
According to data provided by the National Information System and Market Integration, the highest prices are located in the national markets, which don't require the high investment to supply them as that imposed by the markets abroad.
Last Wednesday, the fruit was being sold at 30 pesos per kilo (US $2.26 per ton) at the Central Wholesale Market of Monterrey. Meanwhile, in the U.S. markets, the kilo was being sold at an average of US $1.65, 61 cents less than in Monterrey. Monterrey, moreover, is not an isolated case.
The fruit is being traded between 24.4 (US $1.84 in Mexico City) and 27.4 pesos (US $2.02 in the capital of Jalisco) in the main squares of the republic; the supply centres of Mexico City and Guadalajara. The main reason for the difference in prices relates to historical matters, while the avocado is seen as a delicious new snack abroad, it is an integral part of the national diet in virtually every state in Mexico.
According to figures provided by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography, each Mexican consumes at least 8 kilos of avocados per year, although sometimes, when prices are favourable, this number rises to about 10 kilos a year. In fact, statistics show that whenever exports increase domestic consumption falls, creating a permanently captive demand, which is satisfied by expanding the fruit's acreage.
