The Chilean Hass avocado industry has taken a dramatic hit. Serious droughts in the country’s main producing region have brought the crop’s forecast yield for the 2011-12 season way below recent averages.
Adolfo Ochagavía, president of the Chilean Hass Avocado Association, said that it had been a bad year for volumes on every level.
He added: “The next crop will be affected by drought. It is the alternative bearing year and it’s looking like exports will be 55 per cent down on the previous season.
"This is also due to domestic demand for Hass avocados in Chile. We are working on a long term dam project to rectify this in the future.”
In the last six years, Chile’s Hass avocado exports to Europe have increased from four per cent to 30 per cent. Ochagavía attributed this to the Chilean Hass avocado campaign.
