Halfway through its 2023-24 season, Mexican avocados have shown inconsistent sizes, which has affected retail prices in the U.S. market.

“We are projecting a total of 1.1 million tons of avocados to the U.S. market for the 2023-24 season,” Ramon Paz, avocado export analyst tells FreshFruitPortal.com.

Paz says that even though volumes are good, the U.S. market is reacting in a very different way this season.

A particularly hot and dry year has caused size issues, especially in the early varieties like Mendez, which pushed prices down at the beginning of the 2023-24 season. 

This in effect caused the larger sizes, of nine- to ten ounces, to increase in price compared to previous years. 

As the season advanced, the situation began to stabilize and producers stopped harvesting the smaller fruit, leaving them on the tree to gain size. 

Current prices

“Prices are getting better, last week in the south of Texas, the five-pound boxes of large avocados were being sold on average, according to the USDA, at $36. The same week of the previous year, the same size fruit was being sold for $26,” says Paz.

Smaller fruit is being sold at pretty much the same price as in 2022.