June is California Avocado Month and Americans are eating more of them than ever, especially the Hass variety, which was created in California.
California’s own
More than 1,000 varieties of avocados are listed in the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources database. You may see avocados in stores year-round, but it’s important to know that California avocados are not available all year. They are in season from spring through summer and early fall, with the bulk of the fruit staying in the western United States. Here are some of the most common varieties grown commercially in California:
Hass
Pebbly skin that turns from green to purplish when ripe
Oval shape
Small seed, 5-12 ounces
Hass is the king of California’s commercial crop, as it makes up 95% of the avocados grown in the state and 80% of those grown worldwide. It was developed in La Habra Heights by Rudolph Hass and patented in the 1930s. The Hass variety overtook Fuerte avocados as the leading commercial crop in the 1970s. The original tree stood for 76 years before root rot ruined it in 2002. Hass has one of the longest harvest seasons, usually beginning in February. Hass fruit has excellent flavor and shipping qualities. A single tree can produce up to 200 pounds annually (about 500 pieces), but most average around 60 pounds and 150 pieces.
Does size matter?
According to the Scoop Blog by Dzung Duong on Californiaavocado.com, the size of a fruit does not indicate quality or stage of ripeness. An avocado’s seed actually grows with the fruit, so the seed-to-fruit ratio will always be close to the same. Pinkerton avocados yield the most fruit per tree.
U.S. consumers’ fondness for avocados has taken off since the early 2000s. From 2000 to 2021, the quantity of avocados available per person, a proxy for consumption, tripled to more than 8 pounds. The U.S. has produced an average of about 400 million pounds of avocados each year since 2000, but production has shrunk since 2011 with a decline in U.S. avocado acreage. Imports have risen to support year-round demand. Imported avocados now account for 90% of the domestic supply, compared with 40% in the early 2000s. In the 2020-21 marketing year, U.S. avocado imports reached a record 2.675 billion pounds.
Mexico is the leading producer of avocados, and the U.S. is the main destination for Mexico’s exports. The U.S. imported an annual average of 2.25 billion pounds from Mexico in 2019-21, compared with 55 million pounds in 2001-03. From 2019-21, 88% of shipments came from Mexico, while 7% came from Peru, 3% from the Dominican Republic and 1% from Chile.
Sources USDA Economic Research Service, University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, Californiaavocado.com , California Avocado Commission Photos by staff and David Stottlemyer for the UC Riverside avocado research database
