Since November 2020, the EastFruit team has decided for the first time to pay attention during our retail audits to two world bestsellers in recent years – kiwis and avocados. According to experts, avocados have already surpassed oranges in terms of world trade volume and occupy a high seventh place in the ranking of the most popular vegetables and fruits in international trade.
Avocados now account for about 3% of the world fruit and vegetable trade, and their exports are growing annually faster than any other fruit, berry, vegetable, or nut products at an average of $783 million per year, which is 12% every year! The annual volume of world trade in kiwis is also growing very quickly at 7% per year (for fresh berries) or by $200 million per year!
Despite the fact that kiwis and avocados are not yet as popular in Central Asia as in Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, their popularity in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan continues to grow.
In Tajikistan, kiwis are more of a table decoration than fruit for daily consumption. A detailed analysis of the kiwi market in Tajikistan can be found here.
During the audit of retail chains in Tajikistan in March 2021, we saw that kiwis were in nearly all stores in Dushanbe and Khujand. Avocados were sold in at least four supermarket chains in the city of Khujand (Amid, Oasis, and Anis chains). However, avocados were completely absent in supermarkets in Dushanbe, the capital city of Tajikistan.
In previous articles, we point out that not all buyers know and have ever tasted avocados. This fruit is sold per piece; prices are set for 1 fruit. In terms of 1 kg, avocados are sold at prices ranging from $9.00 to $11.50 per kg!
Avocado prices have dropped compared to November prices. The colour of avocados sold on supermarket shelves in Tajikistan ranged from dark green to brown. There were also dark-speckled green fruits.
Kiwi prices in Khujand and Dushanbe were approximately the same and this fruit was much more affordable for the consumer. The average retail price for kiwis in Dushanbe supermarkets was $2.34 per kg, while in Khujand supermarkets this fruit cost an average of $2.38 per kg.
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