In the case of supermarkets, Fernando Cruz lamented that the authorities, particularly Profeco, are not verifying “marketing margins. They are not doing that job.”
“The self-service could be buying around 70 pesos per kilo, in a wholesale or medium wholesale, and is selling it today for 100, 120 and up to 140 pesos, depending on where you are taking the sample,” explained the GCMA partner.
The producers sell the avocado for around 50 pesos per kilo to a collector, who selects and packs it -in boxes or nets- and from there it is delivered to self-service stores. “The one that takes the most is the self-service”, Cruz pointed out.
Alternatives
Given the seasonal increase in avocado prices, an alternative for consumption has to do with replacing the avocado with other products that contain the nutrients that green gold has.
“The housewives bought according to the production cycles. What do we have to do? Go back to them. It’s not good to be eating avocado all year round, you’ll probably find a nut or oilseed,” Cruz recommended.
Mandatory purchase
However, not all consumers can afford to substitute green gold. Traders have to buy avocado.
Such is the case of Jeovanni Reyes, who has been running a fish and seafood restaurant for 33 years. “Little fish, quesadillas; shrimp cocktail, stuffed pineapple and gratin seafood are dishes that have a lot of avocado, ”he commented.
“We cannot raise prices because we have competition. So what we do is add a little less avocado, but people realize and demand their avocado, in this case there is no extra cost, “he explained.
The merchant – who has not found the cheapest 95-peso kilo of avocado in the La Viga market – explained that in April and May, and in the cold season, is when the price of avocado rises the most.
Other factors that make avocado more expensive
In addition to the decrease in the production of green gold, fertilizers and energy have also become more expensive, directly impacting the costs for producers.
Insecurity also plays a role.
“Producers and marketers have been complaining that they have to pay the floor fee for each ton or for each hectare of lemon or avocado that is harvested,” which means that the producer increases the cost of output of the primary product and with that comes a domino effect, said Fernando Cruz.
