Why Are Avocados So Expensive?

Avocados are one of the trendiest food around the world and this superfood has become the main ingredient to be used in various dishes out there. But most of us are aware that this green fruit comes at a high price.

The price of avocados have been increased throughout the years with it increasing by more than 2 fold compared to the previous year. So, what makes this avocado so expensive yet people are still willing to buy them?

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According to past history, an archaeologist in Peru has found an avocado seen buried together with Incan mummies since 750 BC. But the fruit was known to the Aztecs in 500 BC as āhuacatl which translates to testicle.

During the Spanish invasion of Mexico and Central America in the 16th century, they decided to change the name to "aguakat". Aguakat farmers then grew hundreds of years later which is mostly in Central and South America.

However, people back then were not fond of having avocados until the 19th century. The commercialization of avocados started in the early 1900s but it was more focused on a special food branding for the riches.

An advertisement in The New Yorker in 1920 declared this avocado as an aristocratic fruit. But a group of farmers in California realized the difficulty of pronouncing the word "aguakat" has affected the marketing and sales of avocados.

They then decided to form California Avocado Commission. In the 1950s, the scale of production increased with the price of avocados dropping to USD 0.25 each. Its popularity rise over the influx of migrants into America in the 1960s as the Latinos brought their love for avocados into the US.

But as demands skyrocket, the supply also must be improved, and the real problem of planting avocados on a huge scale start to be seen. Avocado farms require high costs to expand their business.

This includes water, fertilizer, pruning, pest control as well as sun protection. All these requirements must be met to increase the chance of producing quality avocados. When a person decided to plant avocados, the plant must come from a recognized nursery.

The plant must first be booked years earlier. On top of that, these avocado plants require lots of water and the unpredicted weather will have an immediate effect on these plants. The rise in popularity of avocados came to a halt during the craziness of combatting fat in the 1980s.

The obsession with having low fat in this decade has resulted in many consumers avoiding avocados due to their high-fat content. This is without having the knowledge of the nutritional benefits hidden in these avocados.

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The type of fat found in avocados is monounsaturated fats which are good for the health. Even though this fruit has so much fat, it is actually considered good fat. Avocados started to be accepted again in the late 20s and it was helped by an unexpected political decision.

In 2005, the US Department of Agriculture(USDA) withdrew the 90 years ban to allow the imports of Mexican avocados in 50 states of the country. In the beginning, many Californian farmers did not take it well as their sales dropped by 20%.

What actually happened is when the Mexican supply that is ubiquitous, retailers take the lead in marketing and sales of avocados whereas food services and restaurants incorporated avocados in their fixed menus.

This ultimately increase the demand as the food chain supply became more consistent unlike before. This means that consumers get to enjoy their fresh avocados all day long. The biggest day for this fruit will be during Super Bowl Sunday where an estimated 90 million kg of avocados were eaten while the game went on in the US.

But if you were to look at the amount of resources needed to produce that many avocados, then you would understand why the price of avocados went through the roof.

According to experts, the amount of water needed to produce 450 grams of avocados will be 270 liters. So, 90 million kg of avocados require as much as 54 billion liters of water. Any sudden change in the weather like drought will heavily impact the avocado industry.

In fact, this is what actually happened in California for the period of 7 years when this Golden State was declared free of drought in 2019. In some countries like Chile, the planting of avocados was seen to have worsened the drought since these green farmers have caused the rivers to become dry.

Another reason would be the increase in awareness of clean and healthy eating. It has not just become a snack but this green fruit can be found in various cafes and restaurants all over the globe.

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But one might ask whether such praise for this creamy fruit is even necessary. If we were to look at the type of fruits out there, not many of them can be compared to the nutritional profile of avocados.

When it comes to monounsaturated fats, you can also get this from olives and nuts. The vitamins and minerals contained in avocados can also be obtained from green vegetables like spinach and broccoli.

With such a high price tag, the commodity of avocados has caught the attention of thieves who will try and steal these avocados from farms and trucks carrying them. In New Zealand, a night patrol team that is armed and electric fences were set in the farms after the plantation in Northland experienced 70% theft from their avocado production.

In Michoacan where 80% of Mexican avocados came from, cartels have conducted their blood avocado business by using force to extort the local farmers based on their land size and avocado production.

Several restaurants have started to boycott the use of avocados due to being in cahoots with the ethical issue behind the sales of avocados.

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