China experiences avocado shortage due to delayed supply from Peru

China is running out of avocados as the supply from Peru is delayed, reportedly due to the quality of the recent batch not meeting the required standards of the Peruvian government.

Only available are a limited supply of early-season plateau avocados.

According to sources, Peru has dispatched large volumes of avocados last week and the temporary supply shortage is expected to be over by early June.

A spokesperson for an avocado import company from Guangzhou noted that Peruvian avocados from large plantations should have already entered the Chinese market in large volumes by this time of the year.

Because supply is limited, the Chinese market price of Peruvian avocados is very high, with the wholesale price in Guangzhou around $29.52 per four kilograms.

A report from the US Department of Agriculture shows that Peru expects to increase avocado exports by 10 percent in 2021 to 450,000 tons.

Only about 3 percent of Peru's avocado export volume was destined for the Chinese market in 2020.

China's main avocado suppliers are still Chile, Peru, and Mexico, but other countries have obtained permission to export to China, including the US, New Zealand, the Philippines, and Kenya.