An Australian Avocado marketing company says it has been the busiest start to a season that it has ever seen, as the produce flies out the door. The Avolution says demand has been so strong from consumers, that when the Hass variety came onto the market later than expected, it created a gap in supply.
"Usually in the overlap between Shepard and Hass there is an overload of fruit," CEO Antony Allen said. "This year for the first time ever we have seen a gap, which is very hard to handle because we had to fill that space. Fruit got used earlier than everybody expected. That demand dragged it all through. Then the Hass weren't ready to go, they were only on the borderline of being ready."
Photo source: The Avolution
There are more Hass available at the moment and prices are slightly higher than normal, but The Avolution expects it to come back down comparable to last year. He puts the increase in popularity and demand down the versatility of the Avocado, and effective campaigns from the industry.
"It's become more intrinsically used," Mr Allen said. "It's more entrenched in what Australians use - from breakfast right through to dessert, and everything in between. So it's that expansion of usage that has driven demand. It ticks all the boxes in terms of health benefits with fats, fibre as well as vitamins and minerals."
The company has a strong interest in the Asian markets, in particular Singapore and Malaysia, where there is competition from Kenyan and Mexican avocados. The CEO says it's important to constantly monitor competitors in such a key market, especially with Australia's high prices.
"Trays of avocados are selling for around $39-40 Australian dollar mark, which is quite high historically," Mr Allen said. "That presents its own problems with competitiveness, but we need to keep an eye on that so we can balance it out. But it is a very important market for Australian avocados."
Photo source: The Avolution
Mr Allen has also noticed the Australian avocado supply chain has begun a period of consolidation, where it is harder for smaller growers to keep up.
"It's a strong sector to be in, and the consolidation will continue into the near future," he said. "It has changed a lot in the last five years. The upshot is not just the consumer demand level but also at supply level. It's harder and harder for a small operation or grower to stay outside the larger supply chain groups. Export has been one of the main (advantages). We export a large amount of fruit out of our organisation because we can consolidate sizing and make sure it's what the export markets want and what they get. You can only get that when you have a base pulling together to get that volume correct."
Another product The Avolution markets is lychees, which this year saw a change in focus from the domestic market to exports.
"Last season was quite a strong one, very competitive for the availability of fruit and prices were historically high," he said. "There was also a strong export position. There was a lot of fruit heading up into Asia, more than normal. That helped balance out domestic market pricing. In the past it has always been the domestic market that has been the stronger one."
For more information:Antony Allen
The Avolution
Phone: +61 409 330 030