“Colombian avocados bring stability to the U.S. market”

Overview of avocados from Colombia in the U.S. market, complemented by charts from Agronometrics. Original published on July 19, 2024.

Currently, avocado supply to the United States is ample and is expected to continue to be plentiful for the remainder of 2024. Harvest of Mexico’s new Flora Loca crop has started, and volume is expected to pick up next week. The new crop of fruit was initially delayed due to insufficient rainfall, resulting in low dry matter levels. “However, over the past couple of weeks, the rain has improved both the dry matter levels and the size of the fruit for the upcoming season,” says Kraig Loomis with GreenFruit Avocados.

Over in California, avocado harvest is also still going strong as the state’s production volume is expected to exceed 250 million pounds this year. “California has been a key component of our avocado program,” Loomis shared. “The state plays an important role in helping us take care of our West Coast customers,” he added.

Colombia

In recent years, Colombia has also become a key country of origin for GreenFruit. The country’s new season started back in April, but production always slows down between August and September. “However, once it picks back up by mid to late-September, we should see good volume for the remainder of the year.” Overall, the volume out of Colombia continues to grow year over year and production levels of the country’s most recent season were up about 30 percent compared to last year. During the growing season, the orchards benefited from ample rainfall and as a result of optimal weather conditions, fruit is of high quality. “It is very comparable to fruit from Mexico and California as it ripens the same way, and it has a similar flavor profile,” commented Loomis.

Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics.
(Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here)

Colombia is the latest addition to GreenFruit’s avocado program and helps with fulfilling program needs. “Colombian avocados bring stability to the U.S. market,” said Loomis. “It’s great to have a mix of three different sourcing countries as it helps with securing supply.” With weather patterns becoming more erratic, these three origins combined will allow GreenFruit to take care of their customers and programs. All in all, good volumes are expected for the remainder of the year from Colombia and Mexico.

While supply is strong, demand seems to be able to keep up. “Avocados continue to be one of the top items in the produce department,” said Loomis. In addition, demand will get an extra push from the start of the football season and the major holidays taking place in the last four months of the year.

Bell peppers

In addition to avocados, GreenFruit will soon be offering bell peppers from Colombia. “We are excited for this new program, which will start in the next few months,” said Loomis. Stay tuned for an update.

The News in Charts is a collection of stories from the industry complemented by charts from Agronometrics to help better tell their story.

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