Post-Covid, avocados have become a staple of more health-conscious diets. Growers in Latin America have seized on this growth in demand and trade data shows the region now leads the world in the export of the two products.
The modern avocado trade in Latin America tells a story of agricultural development that spans millennia. Archaeological evidence suggests that avocados were being consumed in Mexico as far back as 10,000 years ago. Latin America now accounts for 75% of global production of avocados.
As the chart above illustrates, data from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) shows production in Mexico more than doubled from 1.1 million tons in 2010 to 2.4 million tons in 2020.
Colombia has also increased production dramatically in recent years. In 2015, Colombia produced 309,852 tons of avocado. By 2020, production had increased to 876,754 tons, making it Latin America’s second-largest supplier. Colombia is now on track to overtake the continents of Africa and Asia as a leading global exporter of avocados.
