Each morning at the Japanese stores of Bills — the eponymous restaurant of Australian chef Bill Granger, famed for making avocado toast in restaurants mainstream — the green stuff is served up along with flat white coffees. While the image is an iconic Aussie export, Bills’ avocados are sourced from Mexico.
Mexico has a 90% share of Japan’s avocado market — valued at $211.12 million in 2020, according to consulting firm Knowledge Sourcing Intelligence — and globally it is the primary supplier. But Australian avocado exporters are attempting to challenge this dynamic, campaigning for increased market access and participating in trade events in Japan to promote their produce.
This push has coincided with a weakened yen, complicating these ambitions. The yen’s historic slide, which has inflated import costs, saw Japan’s trade deficit widen in October.