Avocado prices have reached record lows due to an excess of the fruit in Australia, and output is expected to increase significantly over the next five years.
According to Rabobank’s avocado prognosis, supply is up 26% from the previous year, while domestic production is expected to increase by 40% to 173,000 tonnes by 2026.
The current varroa mite invasion and significant weather events, according to the research, could endanger pollination.
According to author Pia Piggott, the plentiful supply has resulted in historically low costs, with avocados selling for $1 each in June of last year and again early this month.
Although customers have embraced the discounts, growers have been under a lot of strain.
Overall, we will be well supplied, and since the supply is growing per person, the price will undoubtedly stay low, Ms. Piggott told AAP.
Avocado prices will be around 50% lower in 2022 than they were in the previous five years.
The investigation came to the conclusion that the national oversupply was caused by a considerable maturation of trees over the last season, mostly in Western Australia and Queensland.
According to Ms. Piggott, Australia’s production for 2021 and 2022 is expected to be 124,000 tonnes, and this, along with imports of roughly 12,500 tonnes for the year, has resulted in an abundance of supply.
Western Australia’s blockbuster harvest, which saw a startling 265 percent increase in expected production, marked a turning point.
The reason for this, according to Ms. Piggott, was a 21% rise in the number of hectares of trees that matured and produced fruit.
According to her, “the low trade prices are obviously a negative for avocado growers.”
Because of the already low margins that producers are operating under due to rising input costs and a labour shortage,
In the spring and summer, most of Australia’s avocados come from WA and imports from New Zealand.
The report stated that production in every other Australian growing region, with the exception of North Queensland, which experienced a record harvest the previous year, has slightly increased year over year.
Australia will need to eat and export more avocados, the study showed, with all areas anticipating production growth over the next five years.
According to Ms. Piggott, customer interest is still strong both domestically and internationally.
Although each Australian household consumed an average of 31.2 more avocados than the previous year, they spent 29.1% less on them as a result of decreased pricing.