Whether folks are smearing avocados on toast, chopping them into salads, or using them as an egg substitute in fudgy vegan brownies, there’s no doubt about it: many Americans adore this ingredient. On the whole, the United States consumes 1.2 million metric tons of the creamy green fruit each year, making the nation the second in terms of total consumption. This is despite a series of supply chain issues and general price increases over the past few years. But if the U.S. is the second highest consumer of avocados, then which is the first?
By a somewhat surprisingly not-so-wide margin, it’s none other than our neighbor to the south, Mexico. According to data from the World Population Review, Mexico comes in just ahead of the U.S., with a consumption rate of 1.3 million metric tons of avocado annually. Avocados are, of course, a staple in Mexican cuisine. From tacos and tortas to soups, sauces and, yes, everyone’s beloved guacamole, you’ll find them incorporated into a multitude of Mexican dishes.
Considering they are indeed a crop native to Mexico, it’s no surprise that it leads the world in terms of avocado consumption — and production. Per Statista, the nation harvests nearly 3 million metric tons of the fruit per year — around 2 million more than both the second and third biggest producers, Colombia and the Dominican Republic. It’s also the world’s largest exporter of the crop. In 2024 alone, it exported a whopping $4 billion worth to other countries, totaling 41.9% of the global avocado market (via World’s Top Exports).
Per capita, the Dominican Republic reigns supreme
While Mexico and the United States are head to head in terms of total nationwide avocado consumption, neither can hold a candle to the Dominican Republic when it comes to the amount of avocados eaten per capita. Demonstrating an unparalleled passion for the fruit, the individual citizens of the Dominican Republic polish off an average of 134 grams of avocado per day — that’s about 108 pounds of the stuff per person per year. Comparatively, Mexicans eat 27.4 grams daily, while residents of the U.S. fall rather behind at just 9.41 grams per day.
As mentioned above, the Caribbean country is also the third biggest producer of avocados on earth, harvesting around 1 million metric tons of the crop per year. With a total population of 11.5 million people, though, the island nation has a much scarcer citizenry than both Mexico (around 132 million) and the U.S. (roughly 347 million). It makes sense that both countries outpace it in terms of total annual avocado consumption — but not by much. Following Colombia, the Dominican Republic is, in fact, the fourth largest consumer of the fruit, chowing down on nearly 550,000 metric tons annually.
Although avocados can be considered a universal love language, Dominicans have Americans (and Mexicans) beat when it comes to their love of them. In fact, they’ve been enjoying pan con aguacate (their own traditional take on avocado toast) long before the breakfast dish became popular in the states.
