New Zealand avocado growers have been hammered by high winds and cold snaps which mean an avocado shortage on supermarket shelves. Head of domestic avocado sales at fresh produce marketer and exporter Primor Regan Booth: “Generally, the fruit matures mid-May and once it’s passed a maturity test it will go through picking, packing and ripening. I expect we’ll see avocados back on shelves early-to-mid June.”
Whangarei avocado grower Deon Cartwright said there was a general shortage because cold snaps in October meant there was low “fruit set”. This meant fewer fruit would grow. The cold also meant fruits were “ridged”. Ridging was a quality issue that affected the skin and excluded fruit from export.
Source: stuff.co.nz