Avocado keeps growing in Europe, WAO says
Add Fresh Fruit Portal to GoogleAt the latest edition of the Avocado Congress 2026, held ahead of Fruit Attraction in Madrid, Spain, data shared by the World Avocado Organization (WAO) showed that despite the rise seen in recent years, the European market still has significant potential for the fruit.
Eric Imbert, an expert on the international fruit market with French ag-research agency CIRAD, said avocados are the most dynamic category among the world’s ten largest fruit markets by volume.
“The market has doubled over the summer in just ten years, and the outlook remains positive,” Imbert noted.
Avocado’s European challenges
The CIRAD expert explained that the industry is entering an increasingly complex phase, particularly in Europe. In the Old World, origins and supply calendars are overlapping, making quality maintenance and promotion essential to support continued growth.
This situation, already seen during the summer, will continue into the coming winter season, making quality increasingly important.
These prospects build on the strong results recorded in 2025, when the European market grew by an average of 16 percent in volume, and average consumption across the EU27+ reached 1.8 kg per capita.
David Magaña, SVP and Senior Analyst at Rabobank, explained that global exports of the fruit have quadrupled over the past 15 years and are expected to continue growing.
This expansion is also reflected in the number of countries participating in the market. In 2014, only 12 countries exported more than 5,000 metric tons of the fruit, compared with 22 in 2024, and Rabobank estimates that this figure could reach 30 by 2030.
In Europe, avocados remain a relatively new fruit for many consumers compared with other fresh fruits, meaning that per capita consumption still has room to grow.
Total supply in the European Union has increased fivefold since 2012, reaching 1 million metric tons in 2025. Looking ahead, an increase of just 100 grams in annual per capita consumption would raise total demand to 1.47 million metric tonnes by 2035.
Driving the next wave of demand
Alongside the evolution of supply, another key topic at the congress was the need to better understand consumers to continue driving category growth.
Shelly Vorster, WAO’s Managing Director, noted that data from over half a million participants show that consumers driving category growth vary considerably from country to country, and higher incomes do not necessarily mean higher consumption of the fruit.
“This highlights the importance of understanding who our consumers are, what stage of life they are at, and how they incorporate avocados into their diets,” she explained. “This is fundamental if we are to adapt our approach and continue driving demand in each market.”
Age, household type, eating habits, and how people consume the fruit vary significantly from one market to another. In Sweden, for example, single-parent families aged 40 to 49 with school-age children are driving category growth. These consumers grew up eating avocados and now consider them a household staple, even among low- to middle-income households.
In the UK, young families with children stand out across a wide range of income levels. The fruit is also introduced from an early age, including as baby food, which could help encourage consumption among future generations.
The way avocados are consumed also varies by country. In the Netherlands, they are particularly popular among younger consumers and pre-family households for evening meals and snacks, which account for 47 percent of eating occasions. Guacamole is among the common ways of enjoying them.
Meanwhile, in Poland, category growth is particularly strong among consumers aged over 50 with teenage or adult children, while new consumption opportunities such as avocado ice cream are also emerging.
Health and wellness: The trend driving consumption
Despite all of these differences, there is one common factor across all countries: health remains the number one reason for buying the fruit, opening new opportunities for the category.
The research shows that consumers are willing to try new avocado-based products, from guacamole and mayonnaise to oils, ice cream, and baby food, expanding the possibilities for reaching different tastes, lifestyles, and consumption occasions.
*All images are referential via Shutterstock.
The second edition of the Global Avocado Summit will be held on November 11, 2026, at the Monticello Casino Events Center in Santiago, Chile. Organized by Paltas de Chile and Yentzen Group, the meeting seeks to bring together the main players in a growing industry
The event has established itself as a key space for addressing commercial and sustainability issues in the industry, bringing together producers, exporters, buyers, certifiers, and innovators to analyze the sector’s challenges and opportunities.
For more info, contact events@yentzengroup.com
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