After the threat of US President Donald Trump to close the US-Mexican border raised concerns that American consumers might not see avocados on the shelves of their stores, Vietnam intended to export this fruit to the United States.

In April, due to fears that Trump will stop deliveries from Mexico, which accounts for about 80% of the supply of these fruits, avocado prices in the US jumped by almost 50%. As a result, processors and wholesalers began storing fruits.

The United States imported more than 900,000 tons of Mexican avocados last year for a total of almost $ 2.1 billion, which is 10 times the amount for which they buy this fruit from the rest of the world.

Avocados could be a source of high export earnings for Vietnam, a government statement posted on its official website said. Vietnam already exports a small volume of avocados to the European Union, but so far cannot enter the US market, where supplies from Mexico still prevail.

Le Van Duc, deputy head of crop production at Vietnam’s Department of Agriculture, said it’s too early to say whether Vietnam’s desire to export avocados to the United States will be successful.

There will be long negotiations, and additional calculations are necessary regarding the possible scale of production and quality in order to compete with other producing countries. ”