New Zealand avocados are on track to ‘Go Global’ and produce sales of $280 million by the year 2023, according to New Zealand Avocado CEO Jen Scoular. “We have a well defined strategic plan, we are collaborating well across the industry, we are planning supply and demand, and work hard to improve the supply chain for avocados from New Zealand,” she says, referring to the record number of trays picked and packed this year.
New Zealand Avocado advises that total trays produced were 7.1 million. Total numbers were between 6.7 and 6.9 million trays, according to Stephen Trickett, from Just Avocados Ltd, while the domestic market took 1.8 million, up from 1.2 million last season.
There’s been a lot of consumer information made available about the health benefits of avocados, and work on quality issues has been consistent throughout the whole supply chain, Ms Scoular says. Forecasting, consistency and increased visibility of the health benefits avocados offer have helped. “Over the last three years we have resolved some of the issues, and increased value from $19m in 2011-12 to over $30m in each of the past 2 seasons.”
New Zealand Avocado has also developed an Orchard Performance benchmarking chart measuring the performance of every orchard over a four-year average from 2012, in collaboration with Plant & Food Research. The information will be used and shared with growers and industry, Ms Scoular says.
Strong NZ dollar impacting exports
Despite a very strong New Zealand dollar, exports to the US and Asia have increased, maintaining value, and the US took 13% of the total crop for 2014/15. This season, however, Just Avocados Ltd is not anticipating any exports to the US. “Given the crop constraints the projected market split for the 2015/16 season is 80% to Australia and 20% to Rest of World markets,” says Mr Trickett. “Industry export crop forecast is 2.9 million trays, though some anticipate closer to 2.7 million trays will leave New Zealand, representing a 35-40% drop on this year’s record.”
Avocados New Zealand will attend the World Avocado Congress in Peru, and Asia Fruit Logistica in Hong Kong to meet growers and further engage foreign markets. “We’re facing a very strong currency against the Australian dollar, and against the Yen, for example,” notes Ms Scoular. “Exports totalled $135 million in the 2014/15 season, but that figure would have been $20 million higher if we hadn’t had such a strong currency. We export 70% of our avocados, and as an exporter are faced with the challenge of exchange rates.”
This week saw the first maturity clearances for export, from orchards in micro-climates and early maturity situations such as Motiti Island which comprises just over 100 hectares avocado plantings, according to Mr Trickett. The area north of the Bay of Plenty, in New Zealand’s north, where the majority of 800-1000 hectares of new plantings are going in the ground, bodes well for the industry, Ms Scoular says. Plantings range in size from 40-60 hectares, according to Mr Trickett, and the mood in general for growers remains ‘buoyant’ according to him.
The avocado season runs from September until March each year for New Zealand, and the country has more than 1450 growers based mostly around the North Island’s Bay of Plenty and Northland.
Final volumes and percentages by market were as follows:-
Australia 3,200,000 trays 71.3%
USA 600,000 trays 13.4%
Japan 310,000 trays 6.9%
Singapore 180,000 trays 4.0%
Korea 80,000 trays 1.8%
Thailand 80,000 trays 1.8%
Malaysia 20,000 trays 0.5%
Taiwan 9,000 trays 0.2%
Other 9,000 trays 0.2%
For more information:
Stephen Trickett
Just Avocados Ltd
Phone: +64-7-549-3027
Website: www.justavocados.co.nz
Jen Scoular, CEO
New Zealand Avocado
Phone: +64 7 571 6147
Website: www.nzavocado.co.nz