Avocado prices jumped to the highest in more than two decades amid tightening supplies in Mexico, the world’s biggest exporter of the fruit, signaling pricier guacamole.
An index tracking avocado from the Mexican state of Michoacan, by far the biggest source in the country, climbed 81 per cent this year to 760 pesos ($38) per 9-kilogram box, the highest in data going back to 1998, government figures showed.
“Lower availability and supply-side inflationary pressures are the main suspects,” said David Magana, an analyst at Rabobank International.
Mexican avocado output is seen dropping by 8 per cent in the 2021-22 crop year from a record high the previous season, according to the US Agriculture Department. American importers of the fruit are still catching up from a temporary ban on shipments from Michoacan last month stemming from threats against US inspectors.
Mexico accounts for more than 80 per cent of the avocados consumed in the US.
In California, which feeds about 15 per cent of American demand, production is forecast to rise this year “but clearly not enough to satisfy growing avocado demand in the US", Magana said.
Companies already are feeling the pinch from higher prices. First Watch Restaurant Group said its costs are rising toward the high end of its projections.
Mission Produce Inc, the largest US avocado distributer, saw a 50 per cent increase in average per-unit avocado sales prices “due to lower industry supply out of Mexico, as well as inflationary pressures”, chief executive Steve Barnard said in an earnings statement on March 10.
“Partially offsetting price gains was an 18 per cent decrease in avocado volume sold, which was primarily driven by lower supply but exacerbated by price sensitivity in select international markets that competed for lower cost sources of fruit.”
US per capita consumption of avocados has more than doubled since 2010 to over nine pounds, according to Rabobank’s research.
More supply relief may come by mid-year, when the Mexican state of Jalisco begins to send fruit to the American market.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Company profile
Company: Eighty6
Date started: October 2021
Founders: Abdul Kader Saadi and Anwar Nusseibeh
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Hospitality
Size: 25 employees
Funding stage: Pre-series A
Investment: $1 million
Investors: Seed funding, angel investors
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
Company Profile
Name: JustClean
Based: Kuwait with offices in other GCC countries
Launch year: 2016
Number of employees: 130
Sector: online laundry service
Funding: $12.9m from Kuwait-based Faith Capital Holding
