The Return of the Disappearing Avocado

Almost a year ago, I was worried that the Hass avocados in my favorite veggie wrap at a local restaurant would disappear. They did because they were just too expensive.

Now though, the price surge has ended:

Where are we going? To classic supply and demand.

But first some past and recent avocado history…

The First Hass Avocado

There really was a Rudolph Hass. While his day job was delivering the mail in Los Angeles, he tinkered with avocado seeds on the side. After some experimental grafting in his backyard, he came up with a variety that he patented in 1935.

Behind Mr. and Mrs. Hass, we could be looking at the original mother tree. It died from root rot in 2002: 

His patent was the first for a tree:

Avocado Consumption

While it took until the 1960s for more of us to start eating avocados, NAFTA made the difference. From a per person average of one pound of avocados in 1989, each of us now consumes more than seven pounds annually:

Avocado Prices

The price of avocados soared last year because hard winter rain and an “alternate bearing low crop” depressed output. This year though, Mexican growers have begun to boost crop totals through better pest control. They also expect the weather to improve.

Our Bottom Line: Supply and Demand

The avocado price rise and then fall are classic supply and demand. With less supply and more demand, price was much higher:

Recently, that higher price went down when supply increased:

Returning to where we began, now we know why avocados have returned to my veggie wrap!

My sources and more: My Minuteman primary source avocado/veggie wrap research was confirmed by this report from the USDA and Bloomberg. As the next step, you might enjoy some avocado history as did I at atlasobscura, Smithsonian, and also the Washington Post. 

Please note that last May’s econlife on rising avocado prices was here.