Not only is China the largest country in the world but it is also on track to becoming a significant importer of avocados. A greater part of the population, which is already urbanized, has made avocado among their fruits of choice. Around 65% of the citizens live in cities with the biggest share living in the city of Shanghai.
Consumption of avocados in China has accelerated in recent years. As economic change came to the Asian nation so did a shift towards a modern diet begin. The avocado trend has been sweeping through Chinese cities ever since the fruit was perceived globally as a superfood. The desire of the people in China to live a healthier lifestyle is set to spur further increase in avocado consumption in coming years.
Avocados in China
The avocado is one of the fastest growing fruit import categories in China. It is on account of the explosion of e-commerce in the largest country in the East Asia region. Promotional activities for avocados on various online shopping platforms has led to more sales. This is pushing up demand for the fruit and consequently the import volume.
Avocados are slowly becoming part of the daily cuisine of consumers in China. What they love most about them is their delicious, nutty taste. The other reason is that they can enjoy them fresh or frozen with different meals or drinks.
China Avocado Imports
Given that avocado production in China is non-existent, imported avocados flood the domestic market for most part of the year. In 2023, China shipped in almost 66,000 tonnes of avocado. It is an increase of 59% from the previous year.
Over the past decade, avocado imports in China have recorded a strong growth. The highest jump in volume was recorded from 2012 to 2013 at over 500%. The peak volume was in the year 2023 at 65,558 tonnes.
Here is the import volume of avocados in China between 2012 and 2023.
Importing Avocados in China
Here is a step by step guide on how to import avocados in China:
Avocado Supplying Countries to China
The avocado import market in China is dominated by Peru. Kenya is the top avocado exporting country in Africa. It has the potential to increase its market share after getting access in the year 2022. The Chinese avocado market is made up of a few sources.
The other key avocado supplying countries to China are:
- Chile
- Mexico
- Colombia
- The Philippines
- New Zealand
China brings avocado from abroad through its main airport. Avocados get into the country as air freight by way of the Beijing Capital International Airport. The airport has a cargo terminal and cold storage rooms to keep avocados fresh as they were when harvested.
The other way avocados enter China is through its main commercial sea port. Avocados get into the country as sea freight by way of the Port of Shanghai. The sea port has a modern container terminal.
How to Know Reliable Avocado Suppliers in China
Avocado importers in China 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 China:
- 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 China
| COUNTRY | AIR FREIGHT | SEA FREIGHT |
| Kenya | 12 hours | 29 days |
| Peru | 21 hours 15 minutes | 72 days |
| Chile | 24 hours 15 minutes | 66 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.