Chipotle Mexican Grill is looking for new sources of avocado, other than Mexico

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One of the largest avocado buyers in the world is looking for suppliers … other than from Mexico

The restaurant ‘Chipotle Mexican Grill’ that uses a lot of avocado for its menu, is looking for other alternatives to obtain the fruit.

With rising avocado prices in the United States, Chipotle Mexican Grill is looking for new sources of supply, other than Mexico.

“The whole country seems to be in love with avocado,” said the company’s chief executive, Brian Niccol, in an interview, and noted that the fruit has experienced the highest price volatility in the Chipotle ingredients basket. “We continue to work in our supply chain so I hope we don’t have large fluctuations.”

Chipotle restaurant-related food costs increased in the last quarter, partly due to the increase in avocado prices, which have skyrocketed by Mexico’s limited offer.

The burrito chain still imports most of its avocados from Mexico, the world’s largest producer by far. However, it plans to resort more to California, Chile, Peru, and Colombia to reduce its dependence on Mexican avocado, Niccol said.

“We are beginning to contact people from all these different places who are really starting to develop a stronger system to offer excellent avocados,” he added.

The Hass avocados from Michoacan, which accounts for the bulk of domestic production, recently reached historical prices until mid-July and were twice as expensive than in early 2019, according to a price index of the Mexican government.

Last year, most of the avocados imported by the United States, more than 2,000 tons, came from Mexico, according to data from the Department of Agriculture. Imports grew 17 percent over the previous year.

The neighboring country also imports a small but rising amount from Peru, Chile and the Dominican Republic.

Source: el financiero, bloomberg

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