The avocado fruit belongs to the genus Persea in the Lauraceae family. The tree is typically cultivated in Central Mexico. In 2015, Mexico accounted for the highest share in global production of avocados with a production volume amounting to about 1.52 million tonnes in 2015. The Dominican Republic and Colombia were also ranked among the major avocado producing countries with a production volume of about 0.4 and 0.3 million tonnes in 2013, respectively. In the same year, the United States was listed as the seventh leading avocado producing country with a production volume of about 0.18 million tonnes.
Even though the fruit was introduced to the consumer market some time ago, it has recently become incredibly popular among Americans. The retail sales of avocados in the United States amounted to 1.26 billion U.S. dollars in 2015. In the same year, avocado was one of the leading product categories in the fresh department of the United States, based on a sales growth of 10.8 percent.
The average consumption of avocados in the United States amounted to 37 million pounds per week in 2014. A recent survey regarding the main drivers for buying avocados in the U.S. revealed that about 73 percent of consumers believe that avocados are good for them and some 70 percent of respondents think that the fruit has nutritional benefits. Besides the growing trend in avocado shopping, not all consumers are convinced to add it to their shopping basket. About 28 percent of of respondents cited "too perishable" as a main barrier for buying avocados.
