The Netherlands is the largest importer of avocados in Europe. One of the main factors behind it is the high urbanization rate in the country. Around 90% of the population lives in towns and cities with most of them concentrated around the capital, Amsterdam.
The avocado trade in the Netherlands is thriving. Since the north western European nation is among the most advanced economies in the world, consumers have more disposable income. The Netherlands also plays a leading role in distributing avocados to other European countries. This is why people in the country are now familiar with the fruit.
The Netherlands is the biggest non-producing exporter of avocados in the world. Avocado importers in the country have become experts in logistics such as transportation, distribution, ripening, inspection and packaging. Avocado has the highest import value of all the fruits imported by the Netherlands.
A big part of the imported avocados are not destined for the domestic market but for the European region. These imported avocados are either for re-export or quasi-transit. Avocados for re-export temporarily become Dutch property but those for quasi-transit remain foreign property throughout the entire transit. These avocados usually leave the Netherlands by lorry.
Netherlands Avocado Imports
Imported avocados are available in the Netherlands for most part of the year as there is no avocado production in the country. In 2023, the Netherlands shipped in about 380,000 tonnes of avocado. It is an increase of 9% from the previous year.
Over the past decade, avocado imports in the Netherlands have enjoyed year on year growth. The highest jump in volume was recorded from 2015 to 2016 at 28%. The peak volume was in the year 2021 at 379,316 tonnes.
Here is the import volume of avocados in the Netherlands between 2012 and 2023.
Importing Avocados in the Netherlands
Here is a step by step guide on how to import avocados in the Netherlands:
Avocado Supplying Countries to the Netherlands
The avocado import market in the Netherlands is dominated by Peru. Kenya is among the top 10 suppliers. It has gained in market share from exporting avocados worth 6 million US Dollars to reach about 56 million US Dollars. The Dutch avocado market is made up of a diversity of sources.
The other key avocado supplying countries to the Netherlands are:
- Chile
- Mexico
- Colombia
- South Africa
- Spain
It also imports avocado in small volumes from countries like:
- Israel
- Dominican Republic
- Morocco
The Netherlands brings avocado from abroad through its main commercial sea port. Avocados get into the country as sea freight by way of the Port of Rotterdam. The sea port has a modern container terminal.
The other way avocados enter the Netherlands is through its main airport. Avocados get into the country as air freight by way of the Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. The airport has a cargo terminal and cold storage rooms to keep avocados fresh as they were when harvested.
How to Know Reliable Avocado Suppliers in the Netherlands
Avocado importers in Netherlands must present the following documents for their shipment to be released by the customs office:
- Import permit
- Commercial invoice
- Packing list
- Bill of Lading or Airway Bill
- Phytosanitary Certificate
- Certificate of Origin
Sourcing Avocados from Kenya
Here are some advantages Kenya has in supplying avocados to the Netherlands:
- It has a longer season that lasts from February to October.
- Production costs are low therefore avocados from Kenya are competitively priced.
- Most of Kenya is covered by a sub-tropical climate which ensures consistency of quality and supply.
Average Transit Time of Importing Avocados in the Netherlands
| COUNTRY | AIR FREIGHT | SEA FREIGHT |
| Kenya | 8 hours 50 minutes | 30 days |
| Peru | 13 hours 40 minutes | 34 days |
| South Africa | 11 hours 40 minutes | 30 days |
Here is a top avocado exporter in Kenya.
Freshela Exporters
Freshela is a Kenyan based company that engages in the sourcing, processing and exporting of avocados and other fresh produce.
Freshela is a proud exporter of Kenyan avocados. Our avocados are organically grown in the most ideal climatic conditions in Kenya.
We source avocados from our company farms and partner farms. Our partner farmers are proud and happy working with us.
Our avocados are cultivated with uncompromising dedication to excellence and freshness. We guarantee optimum maturity of avocados.
We give competitive pricing to our customers.
We use a modern grading machine to achieve desired avocado weight. The fruit is also graded to eliminate any with physical quality defects.
We pack avocado fruit in 4kg cartons for both air and sea freights. We use dry wooden pallets to pack the cartons. Each pallet for sea freight takes 276 cartons while each pallet for air freight takes 144 cartons.
All of our avocado packing is approved by FDA and is certified by HACCP Quality Assurance.
The avocados in our pack house go through accurate machine selection. The avocados are classified according to dry meter, size, colour and external skin defects.
After packing, we pre-cool our avocados to 5°C in our cold rooms. This reduces field heat immediately after packing.
This process conserves the weight of our avocados preventing them from softening, water loss and wilting. Long shelf life is guaranteed because our avocados stay fresh throughout the supply chain. Our customers are happy because of the high quality of avocado we deliver.
The pre-cooling process is in preparation for shipping. We maintain the cold temperatures and achieve consistent preservation by loading close to the cold rooms.
Our trained staff properly seal the refrigerated containers. Our quality assurance team then confirms before the containers leave the pack house. The avocados are now ready for export.
We ship in controlled atmosphere (CA) refrigerated containers (reefer.)
By working directly with avocado growers and cooperatives, we are able to deliver our produce within a short lead time. We believe that growers grow and exporters export. That is how our growers are able to do what they do best and in return we guarantee superior, quality produce.