Last week, Limpopo enterprise ZZ2's first avocados for the season arrived in Shanghai, getting into the market before Peru. South Africa's shipping period to China is at least five days shorter than sailing from the South American country.
Despite a positive reaction from the market, they are yet to decide whether they will repeat the exercise, says Clive Garrett, ZZ2 marketing manager.
They sent a variety of sizes from count 18 to count 30, solely Hass, he says, joining a market that still held reasonable levels of avocados from Kenya, Tanzania, and Mexico. Garrett observes that China is now getting a lot of its avocados out of Africa, especially from Tanzania and Kenya.
"We have now finished with our early Hass crop. We do have Hass later in the season, but we will then compare the prices in China to those of Europe before we decide to send any further fruit," he says.
The total export volume for South Africa, to all destinations, is expected to be 22.5million 4kg cartons.
"South Africa has the potential to triple its avocado plantings. We have the resources in terms of land, water, people, and know-how to reclaim our place as a real force in the worldwide avocado market. We also have decades of experience in long-distance shipping."
The announcement of the opening of China, India, and Japan to the country's avocados has had a bracing effect in an industry that had become stagnant with too few export avenues.
For more information:
Clive Garrett
ZZ2
Tel: +27 15 395 2040
Email: [email protected]
https://www.zz2.co.za/