Federal nutrition policy was significantly reset in 2025 when American health and agriculture leaders recommitted the American diet to the fundamentals of nutrition: Whole foods. Nutrient-dense foods. Foods with healthy fats. Foods free from added sugar, sodium, and chemical additives. In other words, real food.

Avocados are practically a living symbol of these new dietary guidelines. A single serving of avocado contains more than 20 vitamins and minerals, including potassium, folate, and vitamins C, E, K, and B6. It’s essentially one of the only whole foods that’s both a rich source of heart-healthy monounsaturated fats and dietary fiber—two nutritional pillars the new food pyramid emphasizes. To boot, consider what’s not in an avocado: They’re naturally sugar-free, cholesterol-free, and sodium-free, making them one of the cleanest, most versatile whole foods available to consumers across every dietary preference.

And the avocado brings more good news for the federal dietary and agriculture policymakers: Americans are already ravenous for this nutritional powerhouse. Avocado consumption in the United States has quadrupled since 2000, with more than 3 billion pounds consumed annually and a 70% household penetration. This surge of superfood consumption has only been possible through a trade partnership between the USDA and Mexico, which is the only country capable of satisfying the growing American demand for avocado.

Mexican Avocados: Always in Season

Mexico’s avocado supply chain is importing an incredible volume of fruit aligned with the USDA and HHS’ priorities. But sustaining that volume requires sustaining a supply chain that can promise year-round avocado access.

Mexican avocado orchards are literally the only place on earth where avocados can be harvested 365 days a year at scale. It’s all thanks to a miraculous combination of variant topographies (enabling what the industry calls its “Four Bloom” seasons), natural irrigation, nutrient-rich volcanic soil composition, and environmental stewardship by multigenerational family farmers. And since Mexican avocados can be harvested in bulk year-round—rather than in narrow seasonal windows, as in other regions—they represent a consistent, reliable supply that can sustain good dietary habits (and growing demand) in American households in every season.

A Good Diet Depends on Supply Chain Certainty

Introducing and amplifying new dietary guidelines is the first step to a healthier America. The next step—the step America is on now—is maintaining a stable and affordable supply of whole foods. A family can’t build a healthy diet around an ingredient that is intermittently available or prohibitively priced. Year-round avocado imports from Mexico remove both barriers, and all but make the avocado a fruit bowl staple in American homes. Consistent supply stabilizes costs, keeps nutrient-rich produce available year-round, and gives consumers the confidence to incorporate avocados into their daily routines.

Thanks to the United States’ decades-long partnership with Mexico, the avocado has become a daily staple that’s earned a spot at the center of the food pyramid. The HHS’ and USDA’s 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines can only succeed if the supply chains supporting their recommended foods are prioritized and allowed to continue to function efficiently.

The Mexican avocado industry is ready to deliver the good fats, vitamins and minerals, and accessibility Americans need to become healthy again. The United States-Mexico trade relationship has been proven for more than two decades. The U.S. consumer has proven they want avocados. What’s already working must continue to work. Avocados are already the nutritional and economic centerpiece of America’s new food pyramid—but only Mexico can keep it there.

Record 2.5B LB Harvest Projected for 2025-2026

The Mexican Avocado industry orchards are projected to produce the largest harvest ever for 2025-2026. This record-breaking forecast underscores the premium quality and year-round supply retailers, foodservice operators and consumers rely on—fueled by strong promotional programs at key moments like the Big Game.

Big Game Scored Historic 304M Import Volume

Guac had its best import score ever during the Big Game. The U.S. reached a record-breaking 304M lbs in volume, marking the largest pre-game import volume ever recorded. This outpaced the historical average for that period by about 20%, continuing to emphasize consumers’ growing desire for the popular fresh fruit.

 

“Shipping more than 300 million lbs of avocados to our partners in the U.S. — and ultimately consumers — in just four weeks is remarkable and a powerful demonstration of what this industry can deliver when demand is at its peak.”– Alvaro Luque, CEO, Avocados From Mexico

Avocados From Mexico is responsible for approximately 95% of avocado sales in the U.S. during the weeks leading up to the Big Game. In fact, one container of avocados leaves the packing house for the border every 6-7 minutes!

About 250 million pounds of Mexican avocados are imported in the four-week period leading up to game day according to Hass Avocado Board volume data, underscoring the connection between the fruit and consumers’ football celebrations.

To put that number in perspective, that’s enough avocados to:

Place an avocado in every seat at the stadium where the Big Game will be played – more than 6,000 times

Go back and forth the length of a football field more than 400,000 times

That’s the equivalent weight of more than 35,000 Big Game trophies

Cover a football field with 75 feet of guacamole

Fill approximately 30 million football helmets with guacamole

Learn more about the journey Mexican avocados take on their way to U.S. consumers here.

La demanda creciente por aguacates, fruta rica en sabores y beneficios de salud, y el comercio creciente de esta fruta entre Estados Unidos y México, genera progreso, desarrollo económico y empleos en México, especialmente en los municipios productores de Michoacán y Jalisco.

Los datos sobre esta industria primaria de alto valor agregado son altamente elocuentes. La agroindustria del agua-cate genera impactos altamente positivos en las economías nacionales de México y de los Estados Unidos. revela que La agroindustria del aguacate significaba 5.9 por ciento del valor de la producción agrícola total de México en 2019. Hoy, representa el 7.5 por ciento de ese valor.

Estimamos que en 2024, el valor de la producción de aguacates de México llegará a 59 mil 152 millones de pesos. Alrededor del 47 por ciento de la producción se destina al mercado nacional. El 53 por ciento restante se exporta a los Estados Unidos, y equivale a 1.45 millones de toneladas, con un valor estimado de 3 mil millones de dólares, ya puesto en el puerto de entrada en ese país.

A precios de agosto de 2024, el valor de la demanda se estima en 178 mil 264 millones de pesos. Calculamos que el mercado nacional tiene un valor de 120 mil 409 millones de pesos, mientras que el de exportación tiene un valor de casi 58 mil millones de pesos para los exportadores mexicanos y su cadena de producción.

Por cada peso adicional de demanda por aguacates en Michoacán y Jalisco se generan 1.07 pesos de demanda de otros sectores. 58 centavos de ellos ocurren en cadenas ’aguas arriba’, en la producción de aguacates. Asimismo, 3 centavos adicionales ocurren dentro del propio sector agrícola, en cadenas complementarias a las del aguacate, y 46 centavos ocurren en encadenamientos productivos hacia adelante. La derrama total a partir de un peso de demanda es de 2.07 pesos.

La demanda por aguacates genera una industria cuya producción tiene una derrama económica total de 122 mil 445 millones de pesos. En el caso de Michoacán, esa derrama es casi el 4 por ciento del Producto Interno Bruto estatal, y aproximadamente el 40 por ciento del PIB agropecuario del Estado.

La estimación de los empleos directos de la industria, a partir de datos de la Encuesta Nacional de Ocupación y Empleo (ENOE) realizada por el INEGI, la autoridad estadística mexicana, arroja alrededor de 60 mil 927 empleos directos, solamente en los principales municipios productores de Michoacán y Jalisco. A nivel nacional, la estimación es de 79 mil 126 personas, al segundo trimestre de 2024.

De igual forma, la agroindustria del aguacate genera alrededor de 140 mil empleos indirectos adicionalmente en México, desde el empaque, transporte, almacenaje, seguros, financiamiento, comercio al mayoreo y menudeo, pero también tiene impactos aguas abajo en cadenas como el turismo, la educación, y otras industrias primarias. Por último, calculamos que el sector aguacatero, y su cadena de valor, pagan impuestos en una cuantía equivalente a 46 mil 250 pesos a nivel nacional, equivalentes al 34.6 por ciento del valor económico de la producción.

 

 

Triple Pundit Presents Avocados’ Farm-To-Table Journey

Triple Pundit has partnered with the Avocado Institute of Mexico to explore the farm-to-table journey of Mexican avocados in a series of five articles. From the groves of Mexico, to produce aisles in U.S. grocery stores, this series explores how farmers, field workers, packers and importers supply 80% of America’s avocados, benefiting both countries environmentally and economically. Two of the latest articles in the series are highlighted below.

Sustainable Practices Are A Family Tradition For Avocado Farmers

Farming has been in Enrique Audiffred’s family for three generations and growing organic avocados has been there for two. His story highlights how technology is being used to meet U.S. avocado demand in a way that is both economically beneficial and environmentally sustainable.

“Without a healthy planet, there cannot be a thriving avocado industry. That is why the Mexican avocado industry is committed to a sustainability strategy that conserves local forests and protects natural resources and habitats.”

– Ana Ambrosi, Avocado Institute of Mexico

 

Fair Trade Avocados Are Benefiting Rural Mexico

Carlos Genel, an economist and second-generation Michoacán avocado grower, recognizes the value of achieving Fair Trade certification in his groves. Fair Trade practices have been economically and environmentally beneficial for his farm and his community.

Imports of Mexican Hass avocados continue to make substantial contributions to the U.S. and Mexican economies according to the latest economic contribution analysis conducted by Texas A&M University¹ during the 2021-2022 growing season. Since 1997,the avocado supply from Mexico in the U.S. has jumped to more than 2 billion pounds annually², and more than 4 billion pounds in the last two years alone³–fueled by consumers’ love of the healthful fruit while also positively benefiting U.S. national and state economies.

¹ 2022 Update: The Economic Benefits of U.S. Avocado Imports from Mexico This analysis utilizes the Impact Analysis and Planning Model (IMPLAN) to measure the jobs, revenues, wages and taxes generated by the imports along the value chain on the national and state economies. IMPLAN is an input-output model of the entire U.S. economy that captures the relationships between industries and estimates the economic effects (direct, indirect, and induced). The IMPLAN model reports on four specific types of economic effects: employment contribution, labor income, value-added, and output or gross sales contribution.
² The Economic Benefits of U.S. Avocado Imports from Mexico
³ Hass Avocado Board Volume Data

The growth in the market for fresh avocados in the United States has been remarkable. In the 1990s, consumption was relatively flat, averaging 1.6 lbs. per capita. Following a series of immigration, legal, cultural, and even supermarket changes, consumption has increased 350% to an average of more than 7 lbs. per capita as of 2020.