No, the tropics have not yet reached the Sicilian coasts. And yet: the most popular tropical fruit is spreading like wildfire on the Mediterranean island. The cultivation of avocados, the queen of global superfoods, has increased more than tenfold in a decade. Of course, this also has something to do with the climate. But: This is not a story about the heating of planet earth.
Avocados are far more lucrative than citrus fruits
On the contrary, the avocado’s conquest of southern Italy is the result of cool calculation. The single-seeded berry, originally from Central America, yields at least five times as much as the citrus fruits traditionally grown in Sicily. In addition, the demand for the healthy fruit is literally exploding in Europe. The ecological balance of the nutritious star of the veggie diet imported from overseas is miserable. So the time was right for the exotic plantation boom in Italy.
In Giarre, for example, on the east coast of Sicily: on the slopes of Mount Etna, avocados thrive on the fertile and moist soil under excellent climatic conditions. It is harvested here from October to April. One of the pioneers of avocado cultivation in Italy is Andrea Passanisi. He began experimenting with the tropical fruit 20 years ago in the shadow of the volcano in his grandfather’s citrus groves. In 2013 he founded the label Sicilia Avocado. 18 farms are now growing the coveted fruit in the area under the brand name.
In the west rises the “good mountain”, a mutagna buona, as the Sicilians call the most active volcano in Europe, in the east the waves of the Ionian Sea beat the coast. “We are in a fortunate position because Giarre is in the rainiest area of Sicily,” says Passanisi. More than 1000 milliliters of rain fall here every year. “On Mount Etna, the avocado is poured from the sky,” advertises the brand with the sustainability of its plantations. The high water consumption in cultivation – an estimated 70 liters of water are required per fruit – makes the rapid increase in avocado consumption worldwide very worrying.
In Sicily, the young trend is not a sudden fad. In fact, it has deeper roots, says Vittorio Farina. The young agronomist has been researching the cultivation of tropical fruits on his home island at the University of Palermo since 2006. In the botanical garden near the port, avocados have been ripening on a specimen of the tree since the 1820s. On the other side of the island, near Catania, there has even been an avocado forest since the 1950s. In the 1980s there was the first financial support for the exotic berry, which is spoken in the Aztec language ahuacati was called, which means testicles and is probably due to their wrinkled shell. But it was only the international avocado hype that aroused the interest of Sicilian farmers. “Since then, the area under cultivation has grown exponentially,” says Farina.
Sicilian lemons are being pushed out of the market by cheaper fruits from Spain and Turkey
In Sicily, the well-tempered coastal strips on the Tyrrhenian Sea between Trapani and Messina and along the Ionian Sea on the east side of the island are suitable for tropical cultures. Only there are the winter temperatures mild enough and there is enough rain. The spread of exotics – in addition to avocados, mango, papaya, passion fruit and lychee have recently been planted – was preceded by a gradual decline in lemon production, which is being pushed out of the European market by cheaper citrus fruits from Spain and Turkey. Since 2006 the production is more Sicilian lemon down 18 percent. “In some areas, lemon cultivation is no longer profitable,” says Farina.
The new avocado farmers are experiencing just the opposite. They are hotly courted by European retailers. “The demand is huge,” says Farina. And the prices paid are high. Because the cool image of the hip fruit from overseas is increasingly clouded by its lousy ecological balance. The Sicilians, on the other hand, do not only offer good organic quality. “The Italian avocados are also popular because of their smaller water footprint and the lower CO₂ emissions due to the short transport routes of the goods,” says the agricultural professor from Palermo.
Incidentally, in the country where lemons bloom, the tropical fruits are by no means immune to the consequences of the climate crisis. Cold snaps, heavy rain and extreme drought pose existential threats to avocado plantations. The fact that the majestic avocado tree in the botanical garden in Palermo was in full bloom last winter on January 24 was therefore not good news.