According to Ventura County avocado grower Chris Sayer, 2022 was a great year for his operation. Evidently, production was strong throughout the whole state. Sayer explained that they were seeing prices well over $2 per pound for much of the growing season.
“Fortunately for us, that coincided with both an ‘on’ year in terms of production for our existing avocado trees, as well as a number of recently planted acres finally reaching maturity and coming into production,” Sayer noted. “So, we had good prices and the best production we’ve seen yet in our avocado operation. That combined to really make for a fantastic year.”
There were more than 275 million pounds of avocados harvested in California last year, with record-high prices being reported. Final California production numbers were a bit less than the pre-season forecasted projection of 306 million pounds from the California Avocado Commission (CAC). Prices are not expected to stay as strong in 2023; increased levels of imports are projected to put downward pressure on prices. At the same time, CAC estimates indicate a projected 2023 harvest of approximately 257 pounds.
Source: agnetwest.com