We are currently in transition from the winter to the summer avocados. Many origins can therefore be found on the European market at the moment, including Spain, Israel, the end of the stocks from Chile, Mexico and Colombia, and the first arrivals from Kenya, Peru, South Africa, Brazil (next week) and Morocco. Each year, this transition period coincides more or less with the Easter celebrations, a date that is extremely important for the Spanish-speaking countries, and particularly complicated to manage for the professionals of the sector. During the Holy Week and Easter, there is a peak in the demand from the purchasing centers, which have many promotional offers for the occasion. “Strategically, it is essential to be ready in terms of volumes, prices and quality. This year, it is particularly complicated because of all the origins present on the market,” explains Sébastien Morlet of the company Georges Helfer. The situation in 2019 is indeed relatively unusual since Easter will be celebrated the last week of April.
Photo credit: Georges Helfer SA - Our next special King edition: Easter avocados
Peru: A season with a deficit - just like 2018
“Generally speaking, Peru has announced a deficit or a season equal to last year, with an initial delay. According to the statistics for the Hass variety, from the beginning of March until week 16, we are at -50%. Over the same period in 2018, we were at +50%,” explains Sébastien. “Last year, the season started earlier with more merchandise, while we have the opposite this year in terms of punctuality. This is due to a delay in maturity caused by weather conditions. But regarding the production, the Peruvian season started more significantly than in 2018, given the new hectares that came into production in the north of the country.”
Photo credit: Georges Helfer SA - Work in progress for the future warehouse in Rungis
“A strong expectation for quality products”
“As an importer, ripener and distributor, we have strong expectations for quality avocados,” declares Sébastien. “For the past years, we have been riding on an inflationary market. Avocado trading was focused more on the currencies than on the quality of the product. The market pressure was such that there were management errors at the global level in the quality of the fruits. Although we must still deal with those factors, we are expecting to return to a trade that is more focused on quality, allowing for consumption to continue to grow with beautiful products. This way, we will be able to prepare ourselves for the future, when the offer on the global markets will be quite substantial with prices that will most likely go down.”
Photo credit before after PO: Agro-concept - Plans to expand the warehouse at Plan d’Orgon
For more information: 
Sébastien Morlet
Georges Helfer
717 Avenue des Vergers
13750 Plan d’Orgon
+33 4 90 73 44 54
sebastien.morlet@helferfrance.fr
www.georgeshelfer.com