Mission Produce Exports the First Peruvian Avocados to China

Mission Produce, Inc., Oxnard, CA, has exported the first-ever container of fresh avocados from Peru to China. The load was grown on Mission-owned ranches in Peru, and packed at Mission’s Avocado Packing facility in Chao (La Libertad) Peru.

This first shipment left the port of Paita, Peru, and will arrive at the Chinese port of Shanghai, China by mid-September 2015. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation (Minagri) in Peru, significant export volumes are planned to China’s market of 1.4 billion potential consumers.

Simon Gonzalez, General Manager of Mission’s Avocado Packing Company explained, “China represents an important market for Peruvian avocados, so we welcome the fact that the Minagri, through the National Service of Agrarian Health (Senasa), has made efforts necessary to gain entrance for Peruvian fruit.”

Peru has large areas dedicated to avocado production along the coast in the region of La Libertad. Mission’s ranches include Arato, near Chao, and Beggie, near Viru, which are part of the total production of approximately 10,000 hectares, 8,000 of which are are certified by Senasa.

Mission’s CEO, Steve Barnard, said, “We are very pleased with the efforts of everyone involved in Peru to make this happen—from our growers, to packing and logistics, to the Peruvian governmental agencies that helped make this a reality.”

According to Tommy Padilla, Mission’s Asia Sales Manager, “It is a big step for China to open the protocol for Peruvian fruit because this gives China a true, year-round supply to compliment other avocado sources during the season. Mission is fortunate to have a trusted partner in China that matches our values and philosophy of doing business. They reach the various marketing channels in China including supermarkets, fruit stands, push carts, farmer’s markets and small wet markets in all regions in China, not just the big cities of Beijing and Shanghai.”

In order to meet the challenge of growing the avocado business in China, Mission turned to Lantao, and their CEO John Wang.

“The Lantao team is from mainland China, so we understand the consumer market in China better than anyone in the fruit import business.” said Wang. “Our team came up with a comprehensive plan to reach the various marketing channels including using POP materials and an e-commerce platform on WeChat to help educate the consumers on the uses of avocados. Because Lantao is distributing fruit from our 7 regional offices, we are doing a great job covering the first tier, second tier and even third tier cities in China.”

Lantao is the largest importer and distributor of premium fresh fruit from around the world into China. Their distribution locations include Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Zhengzhou, Herbing, Shenyang and Qingdao.

Mission recently completed construction on new packing facilities in Oxnard, California, and in Chao, Peru (Avocado Packing). In addition to California and Peru, the company has operations in Mexico, Chile, Canada and The Netherlands, as well as eight value-added ripe centers across North America. Over the past 30 years, Mission has grown to become a leader in the worldwide avocado industry.