California avocado Mexico imports Hass trees wildfire.

On a hillside northwest of Los Angeles, Andreas Tompros is replanting hundreds of avocado trees. Consumption of avocados has boomed in the United States in the past two decades, and much of the demand has been met with rising imports from Mexico. California growers say these imports have wound up helping, not hurting, their crop by creating a stable supply of the fruit that has bolstered demand. Many farmers are tearing out lemon trees due to overseas competition and planting avocados instead. Growers like Tompros plan to stick with avocados even after losing their orchards to wildfires last year.