Under normal conditions, Chile has the ideal geographical and climatic conditions to produce fruits, such as avocado, which has transformed the country into one of the leading producers in the southern hemisphere. In recent years, however, production decreased strongly because of an extended drought. Nevertheless, it started to rain last season and Chilean producers believe they could start producing as much as they used to starting next season. The drought and the deficit in rains, however, is still present.
Enrique Lazo, from the Hass Avocado Committee, spoke about the current situation: "The recent campaign ended well, but the volume produced was lower than what was initially estimated. As we all know, there are years when production is high and years when it's low, and the campaign that ended in June was high. Thus, the next campaign would normally be low, but we believe it will be high and our forecast is that it will increase by 15%."
One of the greatest strengths of the Hass variety is its long harvest season, a factor which, together with its high quality, has led to an increase in global consumption. Chile has more than 212,000 hectares planted with fruits, 30,000 of which are exclusively used for the cultivation of avocado, and 85% of which are used to grow this variety. "Even though the avocado is the second most important crop in Chile, the number of hectares dedicated to this fruit gradually decreased during the drought. Unfortunately, this trend continued until last summer. We hope that the favorable results we predict will allow us to recover part of the area lost," said Lazo.
"In addition, it's worth noting that global demand continues to rise; China, which also offered the best prices for our avocado, excels in this growth. Since it is a new market, it receives little fruit, so in many cases producers were paid almost three times what markets like the United States offer. In turn, since Chile has little direct competition because of its productive period, and demand is still higher than the world supply, we are confident that the upcoming campaign will be positive for our producers," concluded the spokesman.
For more information:
Enrique Lazo
Comité de Palta Hass
T: + 56 2233 45189
T: + 56 2233 45189