The value of U.S. Hass avocado imports skyrocketed to a new record in the first half of the year while volumes sunk to a five-year low, USDA data shows.

Total Hass imports rose by 33 percent to $1.75 billion from January through June 2022, up from $1.32 million in the same period last year.

The figure last year was just below the previous import recrod for the period, which was set in 2019. 

The import growth over the last decade has been astounding, with Hass imports in the first half of 2012 registered at just $448 million - about four-fold lower than the 2022 figure.

Year-on-year growth has been recorded every year with the exception of 2016 and 2020.

Mexico was the main driver of the growth, with imports from the Latin American country in the first half of 2022 increasing by 28 percent to $1.63 billion. Meanwhile, imports from Peru more than doubled to $75.4 million from $36 million, while Colombia's shot up to $29.5 million from just $1 million the previous year.

However, while the value of imports has soared this year, the picture is not the same for the volume, which registered a decline of 22 percent from January to June, their lowest level since 2018 for the period. 

Volumes fell to 457,898 tons, down from 585,582 tons in the same period last year, following production issues in Mexico, from where imports dropped by 28 percent.