With most of the avocados picked from Southern growing-regions in California, the State's avocado harvest is moving North. Large supplies of fruit are expected to last through August, after which volumes will taper off in September.
“Picking is about 80 percent complete in Southern regions like Temecula and Escondido,” said David Fausset, sales and category manager for Mission Produce. “Ventura County's harvest is about 75 percent complete, but there's still quite a bit of fruit left farther North.” Supplies have been steady so far this season, but after strong demand during the earlier part of the month, Fausset expects a steadier market through the rest of the season.
“Prices spiked over the last few weeks because we were relatively short on smaller sizes,” said Fausset. “But we're expecting more stability on pricing through the rest of the Summer.” Estimates of this year's volume for the State have been around 505 million pounds, and though a cold Winter caused some sizing issues, there's been no indication that quality of fruit has suffered.
“Supplies are matching up with demand pretty well right now,” said Fausset. “So we should see some stability through July and into August.”