Super Bowl demand results in avocado volume increase of up to 50 percent

This coming weekend is Super Bowl Sunday. According to George Henderson of West Pak Avocado, the Big Game continues to fuel their busiest time of the year. “Super Bowl is an event that’s centered around family, friends and watching the Big Game and the avocado is the perfect fruit for many recipes that are super delicious and super good for you,” quips Henderson.

The Super Bowl effect, as Henderson calls it, usually impacts shipping volumes from the second and third week of January until it reaches its peak in the fourth week of the month. During this period through Super Bowl Sunday, West Pak typically experiences a volume increase of up to 50 percent.

According to the Hass Avocado Board, 204 million pounds of avocados were shipped into the U.S. during the first four weeks of January. Out of this amount of avocados, 93 percent were sourced from Mexico, 3.6 percent originates from California, 2.7 percent comes from the Dominican Republic while Chile supplied 0.7 percent.

A shortage of trucks that was evident at the beginning of the month doesn’t seem to have a significant impact on avocado shipments for Super Bowl. According to Henderson, the situation improved compared to the first few weeks of the new year. And, although the higher freight charges are still evident, he anticipates they will continue to level off.

This time of year, West Pak primarily sources avocados from Mexico and California. Supply and quality are looking favorable for both sourcing regions. “Mexico continues to have strong supplies, and this will continue into the summer,” Henderson adds. “California will also have a good size crop at around 380 million pounds.”

Limited California volume is available for Super Bowl. “It is early in our season, so our efforts are tightly targeted to select retailers in California,” says Jan DeLyser with the California Avocado. Commission. “Generally, wide-spread distribution of California avocados ramps up in March and April and this year with a projected volume of 374 million pounds, we anticipate having promotable volume into September.” It is a significantly larger crop than last year. For more information on how can you expand your Agribusiness from or to Latin America, ask FGH´s International Agribusiness, Latin America's leading Agribusiness Consulting firm