The popular Hass avocado

Climate and soil conditions along the Peruvian coast contribute favorably to avocado growth. The Hass variety of avocado is the most popular, accounting for 80 percent of all the avocados eaten worldwide, due to its creamy, slightly nutty flavor, and because of its durability and longer shelf life.

The Hass avocado contains 11 of the 13 known vitamins, and it not only helps fight a range of diseases, but contains almost twice the amount of cholesterol-lowering mono-unsaturated fat as salmon.

The use of modern agricultural techniques, as well as irrigation systems used in many of the plantations in Peru, allow producers to make optimal use of water and fertilizers. Hass avocados are grown in young orchards in the fertile, low-lying coastal region of Peru, and the harvest takes place in May, June, July, August and September.

The recent signing of an agreement with the Chinese government will allow the access of Peruvian Hass avocado to the Chinese market, which will mean, in the short term, additional exports of close to 10,000 to 15,000 tons every year.

In 2014 Peru exported 165,000 tons of Hass avocado. This year exports are expected to grow to 170,000 tons. Peru is now the world's second-largest exporter of Hass avocado, after Mexico, and the signing of the protocol represents a big opportunity for Peruvian farmers.

(China Daily 09/01/2015 page11)