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- Reason 1: AvocadoMuch like chocolate, avocados were also consumed mostly by the people of South America till the Spanish conquerors invaded Mexico in the 16th century. requires a massive amount of water.
- It takes around 80 litres of water to produce 1kg of avocados.
- This means they can’t just grow anywhere (most of it is still produced in Mexico and Central America).
- In fact, because of very high water requirements, avocados are often held responsible for droughts across various regions.
- Reason 2: Because they can’t grow anywhere, the distribution of avocados is an expensive affair.
- It requires astonishing manpower to export avocados, so they reach the consumer fresh and with the correct ripeness.
- For example, those living in Philadelphia enjoy the ripe avocado shipped unripe from California and ripened at the ripening centre in Philadelphia.
- Because they are delicate, the farmers can’t let them ripen in California and then ship them; otherwise, they will go bad before reaching the retail market.
- Because they tend to go bad easily, they need sun protection as well.
- Reason 3: It takes too much time for an avocado tree to produce fruit.
- Avocados planted from seed can take 5-13 years to flower and produce fruit.
- So, farmers have to increase the price to compensate for the initial investment of time by the farmer.
- Reason 4: Avocado trees tend to produce fruit alternately.
- This means an avocado tree may produce a large crop one year and a small crop the next.
Also Read:
Why is saffron so expensive?
Why are unripe fruits green & bitter while ripe fruits are colourful and sweet?
Image courtesy of Foodie Factor from Pexels
Reference shelf :
Reason 2: Because they can’t grow anywhere, – This is untrue…we grow delicious avocados in Israel!!!