New Zealand avocado exports pivot to Asian markets amid Australian decline

In the 2025‑26 season New Zealand shipped 3.445 billion avocado trays, about 9 % fewer than the previous year due to wind damage and tighter market windows. Australia remained the top buyer with 750,000 trays (22 % share), but its proportion has dropped sharply from over two‑thirds of total exports five years earlier.

Export volumes to Asia have risen sharply: shipments to South Korea surged 70 % to 625,000 trays, while deliveries to China, Hong Kong and India nearly doubled and Taiwan grew 50 %. Analysts link the shift to the newly signed New Zealand‑India free‑trade agreement, which will phase out tariffs on avocados over the next decade, further encouraging growth in the subcontinent.

Jen Corkran of RaboResearch noted that global avocado demand continues a “dual‑speed dynamic”, with mature markets like Mexico and Chile nearing saturation while emerging regions sustain higher growth. Major producers such as Peru, Kenya, Spain, Colombia and South Africa drive overall export expansion, although the developing El Niño may increase weather‑related risks for the 2026‑27 season.