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Mexican government boosts avocado production

In recent years, Mexico's FND has benefited 1,921 avocado producers by granting MXN$105M in financing

According to the FND, Mexico’s avocado sector planned to export around 120 thousand tons of avocado to the United States for this year’s Super Bowl - Photo: Alan Ortega/Reuters
02/02/2019 |17:54Notimex |
Redacción El Universal
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In a statement, Mexico’s Financial Assistance for Agricultural, Rural, Forestry, and Fisheries Development (FND) said that in recent years it has benefited 1,921 avocado producers and their families, by granting MXN$105 million in financing to promote the production and marketing of avocados.

According to the FND, Mexico’s avocado sector planned to export around 120 thousand tons of avocado to the United States for this year’s Super Bowl .

Said volume is meant to be consumed in the U.S. during the weekend of the sporting event and is equivalent to about five thousand containers.

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Avocados have become extremely popular in the last decade, to the point of becoming a tradition at the Super Bowl.

In Michoacán , the leading producer and exporter of avocado, the Financiera Nacional de Desarrollo , has encouraged farmers to have a stronger presence in markets such as the United States and Canada.

Out of the total support granted by the FND, the majority corresponds to small and medium producers, who are encouraged to continue growing and looking towards new opportunities for commercialization, which has helped maintain a stable trend in avocado production.

Statistics from the Ministry of Economy indicate that in the last decade, avocado exports reached an average of 710 thousand tons per year .

The volume placed during the aforementioned sporting event is higher than the average of avocado exports made to Japan or Canada , and higher than the national consumption of said fruit during a whole month, which is estimated at 72 thousand 500 tons .

On the other hand, data from the Agri-Food and Fisheries Information Service (SIAP) indicated that, in the last 10 years, around 1.5 million tons of avocado were produced , showing an average annual growth rate of 5.3 percent , out of which 82.3 percent corresponds to the avocado cultivated in Michoacán.

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