Exporters down under are pushing to open the market for Australian avocados for the 2008-09 season.
Anthony Allen, chief executive officer at trade association Avocados Australia, which has 1,200 members, told FPJ: “The UK has always been on the radar, as we can supply at a slightly different time to traditional sources, but it has always been a challenge from a shipping point of view.
“We are looking into ship and fly options.”
Australia has achieved a 12-month supply of the fruit, and produces some 44,000 tonnes each year, 75 per cent of which is the Hass variety.
Allen said the April to October period has potential as window in which Australia could supply the UK. “The South African industry has grown the UK market so much that sometimes it cannot supply the quantities of Hass required,” he explained.
Sun Fresh Marketing Co-op Limited, a grower co-operative made up of 160 members across the country, is working with Maersk to find the best way to seafreight avocados to the UK.
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