Avocado cultivation, an overproduction sector that the European market is still struggling to absorb

2024-04-28 22:10:02

Still far behind average American consumption, European demand for avocados is growing: it increased by 9% in 2023 according to figures from the World Avocado Organization. But it is still not enough to absorb the quantities of avocados put on the market by Latin America.

After the United States, Europe is the second largest market for the avocado, this large green fruit, which is one of the most expensive at retail and often consumed as a vegetable. And good news for producers, consumption increased by 9% in 2023 in Europe, with Peru still as the leading supplier. A European consumer eats on average 1.6 kilos of avocado over a season, still far behind the American who consumes 3.5 kilos.

But Europe can do even better if it wants to help absorb the volumes of a overproduction sector : orchards have grown in recent years and global production has not yet reached its peak according to Éric Imbert, industry expert for the economic review Fruitroppublished by the Center for International Cooperation in Agricultural Research for Development (CIRAD).

L’exemple du Hass Avocado Board

The American example has proven that with money and effective promotion, consumption can increase. But the Hass Avocado Board is a well-established structure in the United States and draws its $80 million budget from mandatory contributions.

The World Avocado Organization, the THEY, which promotes on the European market does not have the same impact. Created not yet ten years ago, it only collects voluntary contributions, incommensurate with those of the Hass avocado Board and for the moment still relies on a small team, explains Shelly Vorster, marketing director of the ‘organization.

A necessarily very targeted promotion

The other challenge facing WAO is addressing consumers with very different habits and therefore having to adapt messages to increase sales. We do not target in the same way a French person who already consumes 2.4 kilos of avocado per year, and especially in salads, as a Scandinavian who spreads it on bread for breakfast, or an Italian, at the train, which is just beginning to discover the virtues of the fruit.

Thanks to the development potential that still exists in certain European countries, the WAO is optimistic and expects consumption to grow by 10% per year on the continent for the next 4 to 5 years.

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