China’s soaring appetite for avocados, driven by demand from its burgeoning¹ health-conscious middle class, has made the “butter fruit” — unheard of a few years ago — the country’s star performer in the imported fruit market.

受中国注重健康的中产阶层日益扩大的需求的推动，中国对鳄梨的需求不断增加，使得在几年前闻所未闻的“牛油果”成了中国进口水果市场的明星水果。

Exports from Latin American nations such as Mexico and Chile are rising by about 250 per cent a year, leaping from just 154 tonnes in 2012 to more than 25,000 tonnes in 2016.

墨西哥和智利等拉美国家出口的鳄梨正以每年250%左右的速度增长，从2012年仅仅154吨的出口量增加至2016年的2.5万吨以上。

“More people are paying attention to healthy lifestyles and avocados meet that need,” said Zhang Hui, a sales manager at Fruitday, an online food delivery company.

“越来越多的人正在关注健康的生活方式，鳄梨满足了这种需求，”网上食品配送公司天天果园(Fruitday)的销售经理张慧（音）表示。

Even western fast-food brands such as KFC and McDonald’s are being forced to address the changing tastes of their affluent² consumers.

就连肯德基(KFC)和麦当劳(McDonald’s)等西方快餐品牌也在被迫迎合其富裕的消费者不断变化的口味。

Yum China, which operates 5,000 KFC stores in the country, last month launched an “avocado series” of chicken burgers and wraps slathered with guacamole to help upgrade the image of its fried chicken chain, sourcing the fruit from Mexico.

百胜中国(Yum China)在中国经营着5000家肯德基餐厅，上月它推出了牛油果系列鸡肉汉堡和鸡肉卷，用厚厚一层鳄梨酱来帮助提升其炸鸡连锁店的形象。该公司从墨西哥采购鳄梨。

“It’s viewed as something quite premium³ and healthy,” said Joey Wat, Yum China’s chief operations officer. A planned three-week avocado promotion⁴ ended early due to high demand.

“它被视为相当高级和健康的东西，”百胜中国首席运营官屈翠容(Joey Wat)表示。由于需求高涨，原本计划3周的鳄梨推广活动最终提前结束。

China has almost no experience in commercial avocado cultivation⁵, meaning imports are likely to dominate the market for years.

中国对鳄梨商业种植没有什么经验，这意味着未来多年内进口可能会主导鳄梨市场。

Mexico began exports to China in 2011, when the avocado was still “a very rare fruit”, according to Alejandro Salas, a Mexican trade commissioner⁶ in Shanghai. He predicts that Chinese demand will help Mexico diversify⁷ away from the US, its top market. “This market will be the second largest,” he said.

墨西哥驻上海领事馆商务领事夏涵(Alejandro Salas)介绍，墨西哥于2011年开始向中国出口鳄梨，当时鳄梨还是“一种非常罕见的水果”。他预计，中国对鳄梨的需求将帮助墨西哥的出口多元化，减少对其最大市场美国的依赖。“这个市场将是第二大市场，”他称。

Mexican officials have held events to promote the fruit, teaching chefs about avocado and tofu smoothies — but last year the country was overtaken by Chile as the dominant⁸ exporter to China. Chile has the advantage of a free-trade agreement with China, while Mexican fruit imports have a 10 per cent tariff⁹.

墨西哥官员多次举行活动推广鳄梨，教厨师制作鳄梨和豆腐冰沙——但去年智利取代墨西哥，成为主要的对华鳄梨出口国。智利拥有与中国订立自由贸易协定的优势，而墨西哥水果在中国面临10%的关税。