Avocado Production in Asia and the Pacific - United Nations in ...

WELCOME ADDRESS
Prem Nath *
It is a great pleasure and privilege for me to welcome you to the Expert Consultation
on Avocado Production Development in Asia and the Pacific. May I take this opportunity to
extend to all of you warm greetings on behalf of the Director-General of FAO, from my
colleagues in the Regional Office and myself. Special thanks are due to you all for gathering
here to contribute to this Meeting.
I am happy to see the positive response which we have received from scientists
working on avocados in the Asia-Pacific Region. Considering the important role which this
crop can play in food and nutrition security of the Asia-Pacific countries and the need for
inter-country cooperation on problems of common interest, we have decided to hold this
Expert Consultation in order to elaborate on issues relating to the development of this crop in
the region. While appreciating your response to our invitation, I hope this meeting will
prove to be productive and beneficial for all the participating countries.
Avocados have been known for many years, dating back at least to 1519 when
Hernando Cortez, Spanish soldier of fortune, was the first white man to set foot in Mexico
City. However, the first written account of the avocado, so far as is known, is contained in
the report of Gonzalo Hernandez de Oviedo (1526), who saw the tree in Colombia, near the
Isthmus of Panama.
Mexico, Central America and northern South America are considered to be the
centres of origin of avocados. Archaeological and other evidence indicates that avocados
were cultivated there in very early times, possibly some 6000 years ago. They were there as
nature presented them, a heterogeneous mixture of seedling trees. They were not
commercially exploited until the first years of the present century, when their potential for
commercialization was developed by Californians. It was in this state that avocado growing
became a recognizable industry. The crop has a wide adaptability, and avocados are now
grown in most tropical and subtropical countries. Yields up to 35 tonnes/hectare have been
obtained in South Africa from high-density planting of avocados.
It is worth mentioning something more about the avocados in California. The
California avocado industry goes back to Puebla, a city 128 km from the Mexican capital.
Carl Schmidt, from California, visited Mexico City, Puebla and Atlixco in 1911 to search the
Mexican market place for avocados of outstanding quality and to locate the trees from which
they came. He collected budwood from the best trees and shipped it to Atladena, California.
Many selections were not well-adapted to California conditions, but one which Schmidt had
selected from a tree in the garden of Alejandro Le Blanc flourished. Its strength was
officially recognized when it survived the great freeze of 1913 and it was named 'Fuerte' –
* Assistant Director-General and FAO Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific, FAO Regional Office
for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand.
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