China’s retail sales of avocados up 72%

China looks set to become the world’s number-one consumer of avocados. This is the opinion of Pagoda’s general manager, Peter Zhu, speaking at the World Avocado Congress in Colombia. With retail sales of the fruit growing 72% each year, it is likely that China will surpass the US as the largest avocado market. There is however an issue with the inconsistent quality of the products arriving on Chinese shores.

“Some people are shipping 17-18% dry matter to China, and that will never ripen,” said Zhu.

There are still issues with a lack of a cool chain in some locations, where temperatures can reach very high levels. This is leading to a great deal of food waste.

It is estimated that by 2021, China will be importing 70 containers of avocados each week. This level could reach 700 containers by 2034.