Michoacan closed 2015 with a total 774,692 tonnes of avocados exported overseas, for which it received 1,500 million dollars, making this fruit the state's main agricultural export. This volume represents an increase of almost 105,000 tonnes compared to 2014, when 670,000 tonnes were exported; however, 40 percent of these shipments are handled by U.S. companies based in Uruapan.
This was announced by the President of the Association of Producers and Exporters-Packers of Michoacan Avocados (APEEAM), Antonio Villaseñor Zurita.
He recalled that the first shipment of this fruit to the American Union, in 1997, reached 6,032 tonnes, adding that the work of producers and packers, and the large investments made in research and product promotion, have had a considerable impact.
He explained that when shipments started being made, avocados arrived to thirteen states of the neighbouring country for four months, and from that moment onwards, operations in other U.S. states have constantly grown. From 1 January 2007, the fruit was already entering the 52 states of the U.S. all year round.
He said that federal government support is important for the promotion of exports, namely when it comes to funding for access to certain markets and to the certification of plantations and packing facilities. In 2015, the Federation granted a million and a half dollars, but for 2016 "we still don't have the information. We know it is a difficult year, but we are looking to maintain and not to reduce exports. There are talks about the budget being more limited."
Besides the United States, Michoacan is also shipping fruit to Japan and China, as well as Singapore and Korea. In the American continent, the fruit is exported to Canada, the United States, Central America, Argentina and Chile. In Europe, the main destinations are Spain, France, the UK, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, as well as Russia to a lesser extent.
The U.S. is the largest market, with 90 percent of the shipments. In 2015, this country received more than 656,000 tonnes. Japan is the second largest customer, as it received 36,000 tonnes in 2015, representing 4.6 percent of the total exports, and in third place is Canada, where about 35,000 tonnes were shipped, equivalent to 4.5 percent of the exports.
To China it shipped 11,413 tonnes; to El Salvador, 7,386 tonnes; to Honduras, 6,705; France, 5,863; to Costa Rica, another 5,338; the Netherlands, 3,022; Spain, 2,523, and other countries like Chile, Germany, Korea, Belgium, Switzerland, Portugal, Panama, Singapore, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Vietnam, 2,219 tonnes.
Competition
Regarding the concern that other states of Mexico may enter the U.S. market, Villaseñor Zurita stated he didn't know when this could happen and said that "everyone is waiting for the U.S. to release the final regulation, which is in the hands of the Ministry of Agriculture of that country. We know it could happen soon, but so far we have no news."
As for the competition for Michoacan avocados in the United States, fruit from California and Peru is also marketed, but "together these represent just about 20 or 25 percent of the total," he assured.
"Californians have many problems with drought and their productions have gone down."
The avocado strip
Currently about 20 municipalities make up the state's avocado strip, but when exports first started, in 1997, only six municipalities produced these early shipments. Now Tancítaro is the strongest municipality in terms of production and Uruapan is the second. However, 40 percent of the exports are carried out by four U.S. companies based in Uruapan.
He explained that more municipalities and states are planning to enter the market. "We know that Jalisco could soon start shipping avocados to the United States; in fact, it already exports to other destinations like Japan, Canada and Europe."
At the moment, it is estimated that, overall, avocados generate about 300,000 direct and indirect jobs. Another issue of relevance for exports are the daily inspections carried out by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which checks the products for any violations of the regulations concerning chemicals or microbiological problems, problems with tariffs or the packaging materials. If any issues are detected, you run the risk of shipments being rejected.
But "in general, not even one percent of all shipments are rejected," concluded Antonio Villaseñor Zurita.
