Britain is in the grip of an avocado boom, experts say, as celebrity endorsement, growing awareness of its health benefits and its growing popularity in vegetarian recipes propels sales.
The fruit has become so popular that it overtook sales of oranges in December, and its popularity looks set to continue as, in a surprise move, supermarkets have cut prices despite the spike in demand.
Figures show sales have now reached a record of £128m in the 12 months to March 2016, up 39pc on the previous year.
Nigella Lawson and Gwyneth Paltrow are among the celebrity chefs who have recently featured avocado in their recipes, with Waitrose reporting a 30 per cent rise in sales after Nigella first showed on TV how to make avocado toast.
Sharing pictures of avocado-meals online via social media also appears to be a factor, with Pinterest, the photo-sharing website, saying avocado is by far the most “pinned” food ingredient among its users.
Sales of avocados overtook sales of oranges in December with around 44 million being sold per year according to Kantar Worldpanel, a data provider.
Prices are down with supermarkets this month slashed avocado prices by 6pc, down to 98p per fruit. It is the first time the price has fallen below £1 per fruit in two years, according to data from MySupermarket, a price comparison website.
Morrisons sells the cheapest avocados at 88p each, it found, with Sainsbury's charging 89p and Waitrose pricing the fruit at 94p each. Ocado avocados are the most expensive at £1.24 each, as well as being the only retailer to buck the trend in downward prices, with a price bump of 20pc up on March.
