Tuesday, May 2, 2017

Invest in avocados (well, maybe not)



Reduced supply and increasing demand mean that avocado prices are going up fast. Too bad they are perishable; stockpiling a ton or so for when the real shortages hit probably won't work.  You'd end up with a lot of brownish green goo.

Avocado prices are skyrocketing
"A 10-kilogram (22-pound) box of Hass avocados from the state of Michoacan, Mexico’s biggest producer, cost 530 pesos ($27.89) Thursday, according to the government. The price, which is subject to seasonal swings, is more than double what it was a year earlier and the highest in data going back 19 years.

The jump in demand in recent years has been dramatic. American per-capita consumption was 6.9 pounds in 2015, versus 3.5 pounds in 2006, according to the U.S. government. People are being drawn to the fruit not just for its taste but also for its healthy oils and fats, a trend borne out in the U.S. by Starbucks Corp.’s announcement last month it’s selling avocado sandwich spread.

“You have increased consumption in China and other areas of the world, like Europe,” said Roland Fumasi, an analyst at Rabobank in Fresno, California. “They’re pulling a lot more of the Mexican crop, so there’s less available for the U.S.”
Green gold?



Also causing price pressure is reduced California avocado production due to the recent drought, and uncertainty about Donald Trump's trade policy with Mexico. The Daily Mail also says that there was a grower's strike in Mexico that isn't mentioned in the Bloomberg article.




I might have to eat more salsa on my tortilla chips for awhile.

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