The General Analysis of the Reality and Livestock and Agricultural Organization of Malaga (AGROAM) includes local specialization, presenting oil, pork and avocado as leading products. Salsa Agrícola dedicates its activity to tropical fruits, being one of the largest producers locally.
The rise of avocado consumption
While in 2012 the commercialization of the tropical fruit reached three million kilos of avocados, in 2022 it will exceed 45 million kilos. That is, in the last decade there was an increase of more than 1392%, according to Confidencial Digital. It was in 2017 when it began to grow, with no hope of a setback. As indicated in the report of the Prices and Markets Observatory of the Junta de Andalucía; France, the Netherlands, Germany, the United Kingdom, Portugal and Italy are some of the main destinations for this tropical product, grown in Spain. And February is the month of greatest export with more than 40 tons, taking into account the different variety of avocado offered.
This tropical fruit, despite being in demand in many cities around the world, is not a product that can be grown in any area. In fact, a specific microclimate is needed to allow its production. It is one of the values that the eastern Costa del Sol offers and that allows Salsa Agrícola to accommodate more than 124 hectares to be able to produce over 1,000 tons per year.
On the other hand, we consider it very likely that current consumption will maintain its trend due to its acquired reputation as a healthy product. So, it is not surprising that, in recent years, per capita consumption has also increased in Andalusia. Given this perspective, we join the challenge of turning it into a healthy product with local recognition.
Commercialization trends
Avocado is increasingly prominent in the Mediterranean diet, which is not only supplied from origins such as Peru or Mexico (the main producer that exports mainly to the United States, Canada or Japan; according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs), but also from productions from Malaga. as Salsa Agrícola, promoting local consumption. In fact, 38.67% of national consumption comes from Malaga, as explained in the El Confidencial Digital article.
In addition, the report on Agricultural Perspectives 2021-2030 from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development OECD and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) exposes the avocado as the most traded tropical fruit in the next ten years with an export of 3.9 million tons. A similar situation is what occurs with mango, the second most cultivated tropical fruit in the area, exceeding 29 million kilograms marketed in Spain last year.
However, given this favorable scenario, we do not forget that we must face, in the near future, problems such as water scarcity or the energy crisis; that we have already begun to look for improvement actions to alleviate them.
