The Portuguese avocado season is on its way. As Global Avocados CEO João Bento Inácio reports, they’ve wrapped up the Bacon avocado season and are getting ready for the Hass season: “We started the season for Bacon avocado and other pollinators in early October and we are ending it on November 15th. We will start the Hass season during the first week of December and we expect it to finish at the end of April 2023.”
Volumes of avocado production in Portugal are increasing every year, João Bento explains: “Global Avocados has 850 hectares of the approximately 2100 hectares planted in the Algarve. Some of these areas are not yet in production and others have not yet reached production at cruising speed. The production volume of Global Avocados for this season, which is now starting, is around 5500 tons. Volumes are progressively increasing year after year and we forecast them to be at 12,000 tons in 2025. A good future is foreseen for avocados in Portugal. We have a good climate and very good edaphoclimatic conditions for the culture and the areas are expected to grow in the coming years, although more slowly than in the last ten years.”
Most of the production by Global Avocados will be shipped to markets abroad, and as demand is very strong, it’ll be difficult to meet it with current supply, João Bento states. “Demand for avocados is on the rise. We export more than 90% of our production and we hope to increase volumes to the Portuguese market. We export to several European countries such as France, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, UK, Spain, Switzerland, etc., all of them important. The demand and desire of our customers for more quantities far exceeds the quantities we can supply. Naturally, with the evolution of the offer of larger quantities, other markets may naturally emerge.”
João Bento feels that the Portuguese avocados is becoming a staple product in the European market, as volumes increase every year: “At the moment, Portuguese production is already very important to the European market, not only because of its weight in quantity, which is increasing year after year and which customers want to keep track of, but also because of its recognized quality that everyone wants. Prices in this past season were lower than in previous season, but we expect the prices to recover already in the new season, which is already starting. The effects of Covid and the war in Ukraine were decisive factors and contributed to the destabilization of markets.”
For more information:
João Bento Inácio
Global Avocados
Tel: +351 281 381679
Email: geral@globalavocados.pt
https://globalavocados.pt/