The Story Behind Avocado’s Rise to Prominence in the United States
Dr. Hoy F. Carman, an emeritus professor in the ARE Department at UC Davis has recently completed a paper on the phenomenal growth of avocado consumption in the United States, and how that growth was fueled by the implementation of producer and importer funded research and promotion programs.
Specifically, that fact that avocado per capita consumption grew at an astounding 405.8% from 1990-1991 to 2016-2017, and the overall fruit category in the United States grew just 28.5% over that same time period, just begged the question – how was this accomplished?
Dr. Carman’s report discusses the creation of The Hass Avocado Promotion, Research and Information Act of 2000, which created the Hass Avocado Board. His paper discusses the investments made by all producers and importers of avocados into the United States, and the fact that this Act and the investments, along with the phased in opening of the U.S market to avocados imported from Mexico, has “increased demand and offset the price depressing effects of increased supplies.”
Read the full report at HAB Happenings and learn in great detail the amazing history of the Hass Avocado Board, the success it has helped fuel in the category and the fascinating story of how an industry working together can get the job done – and make avocados America’s favorite fruit!
The paper is published in UPDATE, a bi-monthly report of research by members of the University of California Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics.
While the concept of data sharing is as old as HAB itself, in the early days, the quality was hampered by the pervasive mistrust among the HAB partners. Yet, over time as collaboration and cooperation evolved, so did the credibility and quality of the data inputs. The key players saw the value and built the Avocado Volume and Inventory System (AVIS) which became a widely successful global industry intelligence engine providing invaluable information related to U.S. avocado supply, inventory and sales.