Japanese citrus farmers switch to avocados as climate change warms soil

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Global warming is expected to expand areas suitable for ‘sensitive’ avocados in Japan 2.5-fold or more by the middle of the century

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KyodoPublished: 12:20pm, 5 May 2026Updated: 12:50pm, 5 May 2026Fuminori Arita once farmed iyokan, a Japanese citrus variety, but about 10 years ago he switched to growing avocados, revelling in the challenge of producing crops of what he describes as a “sensitive and difficult to grow” fruit.The 67-year-old is symbolic of efforts by the western Japanese city of Matsuyama in Ehime prefecture, long known primarily for citrus cultivation, to shift more to avocados, partly as a strategy to adapt to rising temperatures amid climate change.

Given the challenge of cultivating avocados, the “joy of success is huge”, said Arita, who started with seedlings he acquired from the city government.

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His avocados now sell for around 5,000 yen (US$32) per kg (2.2lbs).

Aided by the local push, output of Matsuyama avocados began gaining momentum in 2009 and in the past decade has jumped over 12-fold from about 600kg in the 2015 financial year to about 7,300kg over the same period in 2024.

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While suitable areas for cultivating mandarin oranges will gradually shift northwards, many areas that are deemed too warm for citrus fruit will become suitable for avocados, according to the National Agriculture and Food Research Organisation.

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