IndexBox has just published a new report: ‘Asia-Pacific – Avocados – Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends, and Insights’. Here is a summary of the report’s key findings.

For the eighth year in a row, the Asia-Pacific avocado market recorded growth in sales value, which increased steadily to approx. $1.4B (in wholesale prices, excluding retailers’ margins) over the last seven years. This trend is generally in line with the global trend of rising avocado consumption. Consumers consider avocados as a healthy and tasty fruit, and the fashion for a healthy lifestyle that gains momentum worldwide promotes avocado consumption. The growth of the Asian-Pacific market is facilitated by the growing popularity of Western cuisine in major cities in China and other Asian countries.

Consumption by Country

Indonesia (462K tonnes) remains the largest avocado-consuming country in Asia-Pacific, accounting for 52% of total volume (IndexBox estimates). Avocado consumption in Indonesia exceeded the figures recorded by the second-largest consumer, China (173K tonnes), threefold. Australia (90K tonnes) ranked third in terms of total consumption with a 10% share.

From 2012 to 2019, the average annual growth rate of volume in Indonesia stood at +6.7%. In the other countries, the average annual rates were as follows: China (+6.9% per year) and Australia (+6.8% per year).

In value terms, Indonesia ($404M), Australia ($345M), and China ($224M) constituted the countries with the highest levels of market value in 2019, together accounting for 69% of the total market. These countries were followed by Japan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines, which together accounted for a further 24%.

The country with the largest volume of avocado production was Indonesia (462K tonnes), accounting for 61% of the total volume. Avocado production in Indonesia exceeded the figures recorded by the second-largest producer, China (129K tonnes), fourfold. The third position in this ranking was occupied by Australia (80K tonnes), with an 11% share.

The countries with the highest levels of avocado per capita consumption in 2019 were Australia (3.58 kg per person), New Zealand (3.06 kg per person), and Indonesia (1.71 kg per person).

From 2012 to 2019, the biggest increases were in Sri Lanka, while avocado per capita consumption for the other leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

Imports in Asia-Pacific

In 2019, approx. 178K tonnes of avocados were imported in Asia-Pacific; picking up by 8.4% against the previous year. In general, imports saw a buoyant increase. Over the period under review, imports attained the maximum in 2019 and are expected to retain growth in the near future. In value terms, avocado imports rose significantly to $516M (IndexBox estimates) in 2019. Over the period under review, imports enjoyed a strong expansion.

In 2019, Japan (77K tonnes) represented the key importer of avocados, making up 43% of total imports. China (44K tonnes) ranks second in terms of total imports with a 25% share, followed by Hong Kong SAR (10%), Australia (8.4%), and South Korea (4.6%). Singapore (5.5K tonnes) and Malaysia (3.9K tonnes) held a minor share of total imports.

From 2012 to 2019, the most notable rate of growth in terms of purchases, amongst the key importing countries, was attained by China (+66.2% per year), while imports for the other leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

In value terms, the largest avocado importing markets in Asia-Pacific were Japan ($202M), China ($134M), and Australia ($54M), with a combined 75% share of total imports.

The COVID crisis has had a significant impact on imports to China. In 2020, according to official data from China Customs, avocado imports in the first nine months were over 18K tons, down 23.8% from 2019. As the quarantine gradually eases, demand for avocados in China can be expected to recover. Since the main consumers of avocados are affluent residents of large cities, the continued growth of the middle class of China’s population is expected to further increase demand for avocados.

Until the pandemic is fully overcome, the risk of supply chain disruption due to asynchronous quarantine measures in different countries persists. Indonesia, meanwhile, remains the only country with self-sufficient avocado production, thereby being less susceptible to pandemic-related risks.

Source: IndexBox AI Platform