Why Nigerian avocado farmers should cash-in global market projection
According to the Agricultural Outlook 2021-2030 report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), avocado will become the most commercialized tropical fruit by 2030, the year in which production is projected to reach 12 Mt, up to 3.9 Mt of which will be exported, exceeding both pineapples and mangoes in volume.
Given the high average unit prices of avocado, the total value of world avocado exports would reach an estimated 8.3 billion dollars, thus positioning the avocado as one of the most valuable fruits on the market.
This is an opportunity for many households in the growing belts to expand production and cash in this projected juicy market.
In Nigeria, the highland of Plateau State, Mambilla Plateau, the eastern and southern states are all growing belts. Although it is widely consumed as one of the nutritious fruits, very few farmers see opportunity to take the farming in commercial quantity like the oranges, mangoes and cashew.
With the appropriate varieties, intending Nigeria commercial farmers can cut a piece of the global market. Kenya is already enjoying that and it’s time for Nigeria to tap into it.
Globally, broad world demand and lucrative export unit prices continue to be the main drivers of this growth, stimulating substantial investments in the expansion of the production area in major producing and emerging countries.
Avocado production has so far been concentrated in a small number of regions and countries. The top 10 producing countries currently account for almost 80% of global production and, although new growing areas are emerging rapidly, Latin America and the Caribbean are expected to account for nearly 74% of the avocado production in 2030 because the region has favorable conditions to grow this fruit.
Production in Mexico, the world’s largest producer and exporter, is expected to grow by 5.2% annually over the next ten years due to continued growth in demand in the United States, Mexico’s main export market. So, despite growing competition from emerging exporters, Mexico is expected to continue increasing its world export share to 63% of the total in 2030, according to the report.
The United States and the European Union, where consumer interest in avocados is driven by their healthy benefits, will continue to be the top importers for the next decade, accounting for 40% and 31% of world imports in 2030, respectively. However, imports are also increasing rapidly in many other countries, such as China and some Middle Eastern countries, and, as measured by the Herfindahl-Hirschman index of all importers, the concentration of imports is gradually decreasing, the document states.