The Mexican avocado has a great opportunity at this time of year, either to be exported or to be consumed locally, but producers will need financial support to meet the demand.
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February 4, 2021 3 min read
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The Super Bowl is one of the most popular sporting events globally and, for Mexico, represents a great opportunity both in the export sector, as well as for national sales of avocado or the so-called Green Gold .
With the popularity in the United States of guacamole and other avocado- based snacks, approximately 31% of total Mexican avocado sales abroad are made between December and February, with the United States as the main target market.
In this sense, this year there will be an unpublished edition of the Super Bowl for the agri-food market, not only due to sanitary restrictions in stadiums, but also because of the potential that the avocado market implies for the fact that it will be the most watched sporting event in the world. through television and streaming platforms .
In fact, the Association of Producers and Packers Exporters of Avocado of Mexico (Apeam) predicts that this year, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, exports of this fruit will grow4% compared to 2020 .
The expected increase in international sales of the fruit reaffirms that this time of year is the most important for Michoacan avocado exporters and they should take advantage of it . But, in the current context of economic crisis, the challenge to meet this demand that does not diminish lies in having the necessary working capital, even for basic expenses such as payroll or payment to suppliers. To achieve this, most exporters will need financial support.
Considering that during 2020 the banking institutions tightened their credit policies , schemes such as digital factoring have become a real alternative, since it does not represent debt to continue with the growth rate in the face of market demands.
As a result of the financial adversities of the pandemic and the growing need for Mexican companies to maintain their capital flow to avoid a closure of their operation, at the end of 2020, Drip Capital registered a 300% increase in financing requests, as well as a 50% increase in its financed volume compared to 2019.
Another option, very national
According to the Mexican Avocado Group (GAMEX), in the second week of January the record for avocado shipments to the United States was broken and they went from sending 32 thousand tons to 35 thousand tons. However, at the moment there is great uncertainty due to the fact that sales have not increased.
Taking into account that the Super Bowl is also one of the most popular sporting events in Mexico and that, according to the Agrifood and Fisheries Information Service (SIAP), per capita consumption is 7 kilos per person, even though it does not Exports increase, the market also has an opportunity for growth at the national level.
The avocado that is not exported stays in the country, which also represents a great opportunity. Avocado growers can also use domestic factoring tools to boost their production and sale as part of this sporting event. A necessary boost in the midst of a very affected economy.