Global virtual water trade of avocado

Abstract This paper investigates the relationship between international trade of avocado and the related virtual water trade over the period 2000–2016. Using a Physical Trade Analysis, we show that commercial and virtual water trade grew rapidly moving almost hand-in-hand in the years taken into account: in parallel with a remarkable increase of international trade of avocado from 0.4 Mt in 2000 to 1.9 Mt in 2016, the global virtual water trade of avocado increased from 408 Mm3 to 2238 Mm3 over the same period. The analysis emphasizes a large disparity between developed and developing countries, with the former being net importer of water and the latter large net exporter. In particular, large avocado-related water flows move from countries already under chronic water stress such as Mexico, Peru and Chile towards more water-rich regions such as US, Japan, Canada and the European Union. As a consequence, the overexploitation of water underlying the avocado trade flows may end up worsening environmental conditions in many relatively poor countries in which the export of avocado is often regarded as an important source of economic growth.