Avocado lovers are facing hefty price rises as the demand grows and adverse weather causes poor harvests

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Avocado lovers are facing hefty increases in the cost of their favourite salad food.

The price hike has been blamed on a surge in demand and a poor harvest caused by adverse weather conditions.

Sales of the creamy superfood in Britain are up by as much as 25 per cent this year. 

Sales of the avocado have gone up as much as 25 per cent in Britain, while the demand grows across Europe, the US and Australia

The price hike has been blamed on a surge in demand and a poor harvest caused by adverse weather conditions

Sandra Kajda, a buyer for fruit and vegetable supplier Reynolds, told trade magazine The Grocer that demand was growing across Europe, the US and Australia as avocados became ‘more of a mainstream product’. 

At the same time, supplies had been hit by the El Nino weather system, and sourcing competitively priced avocados had become ‘a challenge’ she said.

El Nino is a complex weather pattern caused by rising ocean temperatures that creates knock-on effects across the globe. Miss Kajda added that Mediterranean producers expect production to fall by 30 per cent this year due to bad weather.

But Jaime Cardenas, of the Peruvian Trade Office, said avocado production in his country is expected to double by 2020 to around 400,000 tonnes.

Peru has tripled its avocado exports since 2010 with sales to the UK up 58 per cent over the past year.