Yes, I know it’s quite late for one to be putting up blog entries, but hey…. it’s never too late to have a bite of avocado. A bit of a background – South Africa produces on average about 90 000 tonnes of avocados a year.
This has grown significantly from levels of just under 70 000 tonnes in the early 2000’s. The key driver behind this has largely been an expansion in area planted, which in turn was supported by an uptick in both domestic and global demand.
Ok, I am not sure if South African ‘avocado lovers’ would like to hear this, but I will say it anyway. South Africa typically exports roughly two-thirds of its avocado production.
But, in 2017, the country’s avocado exports declined by 25 percent from the previous year to 43 492 tonnes, partly on the back of a reduction in output.
Leading buyers included the Netherlands with a share of 69 percent, followed by the United Kingdom with a share of 22 percent, Spain at 4 percent, and the rest went to markets such as Namibia, Russia and Botswana amongst others.
Data sources: DAFF and Trade Map
Follow me on Twitter (@WandileSihlobo). E-mail: wandile@agbiz.co.za
