California avocados saw record US market share in February amid Mexican supply hiccup

With harvests of California avocados in full swing, supplier West Pak Avocado said the fruit saw record volume in February.

“Between a later big game this year and the week-long hiccup in supply from Mexico, California fruit saw a record 10.2 percent market share in February,” said Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing Doug Meyer.

“At this point, over 10 percent of the California fruit for the season has been harvested, which is typically only a few percent by the end of February.”

Early preseason forecasts by the California Avocado Commission (CAC) project a 15 percent increase in volume over 2021 with a 306-million-pound crop in 2022, with the Hass variety making up the majority of the harvest.

Most of the California avocado season volume is expected to occur from mid-April through mid-July, with the season winding down during the months of August, September, and October.

“We are hoping for good rainfall totals in March to help the fruit size-up for growers,” added Meyer. “We want a good distribution of sizing by mid to late April, which is when we typically see the first major uptick in harvest volume of locally-grown avocados in preparation for Cinco de Mayo.”

“The California avocado season is my favorite time of year,” Meyer continued.

“I love seeing the avocados coming in from the groves and hearing our packing facility buzzing with activity. Additionally, customers and consumers in the core markets get really excited about the season and all of the opportunities that are made possible by California avocados.”

For 2021, the Hass Avocado Board lists the volume of California avocados at 251,593,334 pounds, which is just under 9 percent of the almost 3 billion pounds total incoming volume of avocados arriving in the U.S. market from all suppliers. 

California avocados remain a valued commodity despite a relatively small share of the avocado market.