Avocados Australia is predicting that the consumption of avocados is expected to rise from four kilograms per person to five kilograms per person by the end of the 2021/22 year due to a massive increase in domestic production.
After falling below the 80,000 tonnes in the 2020-21 year, it is currently forecast to increase to 120,298 tonnes in the 2021-22 year. The updated long-term forecast suggests Australia’s avocado production is expected to continue to increase to about 170,000 tonnes by 2026, more than double the 2020-21 crop.
“Australia’s production from now until Christmas is expected to be up 150% more than last year,” Avocados Australia CEO John Tyas said. “This year’s Hass crop is of excellent quality, and we’ve had good growing conditions across most of our production regions, so lovers of Aussie avocados should keep celebrating 'Our Green Gold'(campaign). We encourage retailers to support Aussie growers given the massive crop and great quality available from Australian producers this year."
Graphic source: Facts at a Glance 2020/21 (Avocados Australia)
The gross value of production (GVP) for Australian avocados was estimated at $563 million for 2020/21, which continued the year on year growth for the past three years. The number of 5.5-kilogram trays was slightly down to 14,197,276 trays, and export value had a small decrease in value to $22 million.
Queensland continues to produce the majority of Australian avocados, with 69 per cent production in 2020-21, ahead of Western Australia at 17 per cent. Australian growers have planted lots of new areas over the past five years and Mr Tyas says these trees are now hitting their stride.
“Lovers of Aussie avocados are really in the best place right now,” Mr Tyas said. “Consumers right now can buy quality Australian avocados and, because of the nature of supply, they’re awesome value for money right now. Avocados are a healthy natural product that is ideal for so many varied recipes and we really want to encourage avocado lovers to have more of what they love; Aussie avocados. There is plenty of high-quality Australian Avocados available this season, so make sure you ask your retailer for an Australian Avocado if you can’t find them in-store. We value the great job that our retailers do to support Aussie growers and we hope they will continue to help promote our massive crop this year. We invite avocado lovers to choose Australian avocados this season and try our delicious new recipes, be it sweet or savoury, in support of Australian farmers.”
Graphic source: Facts at a Glance 2020/21 (Avocados Australia)
Avocados are produced all year round, across eight major avocado growing regions. Hass is the main avocado variety, and in 2020/21 Hass represented 70 per cent of production. Shepard, which is harvested in Queensland through late Summer and Autumn, made up 25 per cent of total production.
In both production and exports, Australia is currently a small player in the world avocado market, but Avocados Australia is leading industry's ongoing activity in targeting growth in export markets. In 2020/21 Australia exported 3,155 tonnes, representing 4.04 per cent of the 78,085 tonnes produced in Australia. However, exports have increased dramatically in the last few months.
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For more information:
Avocados Australia
Phone: +61 7 3846 6566
admin@avocado.org.au
www.avocado.org.au