Attention will be firmly fixed on Mexican avocados this season as importers aim to rectify what they term a troublesome year thus far.
UK preference for Hass is unshakeable but supplying a burgeoning demand for avocados has been a less than straightforward affair. “Israel finished quickly and Spain had very little volume,” says Matthew Glancy, salads sales manager at Minor, Weir & Willis. “There was a lack of water in Israel and Spain had problems with fruit set. The South African crop also had problem. Volumes were substantially down on the year before because of bad weather at various times throughout the season.”
Difficulties worldwide have had a negative impact on the global avocado supply situation. A shortage of volume and quality problems have added up to what Glancy describes as “a very difficult season”. And as always when product shortages occur, high prices have compounded the situation.
As the largest global producer of avocados, yielding around one million tonnes a year, the Mexican climate affords a long export season. “New season shipments are just about to start rolling,” says Glancy. “Essentially production carries on for 52-weeks a year, but for reasons of quality we begin the Mexican season now.”
With widespread disruption across other supply sources, hopes are high that Mexican produce will fulfil requirements in terms of volume and quality, but according to Roberto Rodriguez, international sales representative at Mission Produce Inc, Mexican avocado production is currently experiencing an off-year. “Volume wise we're 30-40 per cent down on last year,” he says.
“We have a certain window in the UK, but every year it's different ñ for the UK and for the whole of Europe,” he continues. “Usually we would supply from November until January but it all depends on how the other supply countries are performing.”
Supply windows might change, but the global preference for the mainstay of Mexican production, Hass, appears pretty much unshakeable. “Hass tastes better than others, has a very thick skin and importantly, it is very tolerant to hot and cold weather which means that it transports well,” says Rodriguez. “Green skins, on the other hand are very thin and therefore susceptible to damage.”
Although Rodriguez believes that close to 98 per cent of Mexican avocado production is Hass, dozens of varieties are continually trialed. As yet there are no commercial varieties that have the potential to replace this premium variety. “To date,” he says, “there is nothing better.”
Not everyone would agree. According to Bancomext/Mexican Trade Commission in London, the Mexican Hass avocado has rightly achieved world recognition for quality and resistance to handling in transport.
However, thanks to research and new technology, Mexico is developing other types of avocado that have great potential, by variety crossing. (see table on page 18).
Like any product, despite having admirable qualities, Hass is not without its limitations and there are reasons to look beyond Hass to other varieties. Many, including the Agriculture and Natural Resources department at the University of California believe that Hass is limited in terms of its intolerance to extreme climatic conditions, its sensitivity to certain pests and its alternate bearing obstacles.
New varieties aside, Bancomext believes that forecasts for growth in Mexico are not dependent on an increase in the surface area of production, but on an increase in yield per hectare for which Mexico currently holds ninth position in the world (9.6 tonnes per hectare). The highest rate is the Dominican Republic currently rating at 18.2t/ha. Bancomext also believes that technological innovations recently implemented in its principal producing regions mean that Mexico will make significant advances resulting in increased production.
Mexican avocado growers do face certain, specific issues. Rodriguez explains: “Growing issues, in general, include the fact that producers face a lot of rain and so they do come up against fungal issues. Year-round spraying is a costly issue but necessary because of the predominance of insects.”
Mexican organic production is widely believed to be in a state of flux. Elena Espinosa-Wingate, commercial counsellor at the Mexican Embassy and London representative of Bancomext, believes that organic production is increasing: “Many producers have been turning to organic methods and have gained the necessary certification so that they can supply the increasing market for organic food products,” she says.
Rodriguez, on the other hand believes that many organic producers have, in fact, switched back to conventional production. “There is a small amount of organic production but a lot of growers have abandoned organic production and gone over to conventional,” he says. “I'd say five per cent of Mexican avocado production is organic but growers were putting the investment in and weren't getting good prices for the end product. Organic production is costly to maintain and at the end of the day producers weren't getting any added value,” he adds. “Although there is still demand, particularly in Europe.”
Mexican consumption of avocados is extremely high, and only six per cent of the country's total annual production is exported. Despite this low volume in relation to production, Mexico is still the world leader in avocado exports. Its main competitor in the Americas is Chile and in the Middle East, Israel. The three countries jointly hold 53 per cent of the world's export market, says Bancomext.
Due to its geographical proximity and potential for growth, the US market is one of the most important for Mexico and in the last few years the North American market has become the principal destination for the Mexican avocado, accounting for 64 per cent of the total value of exports (US 54 per cent and Canada 10 per cent). 80 per cent of Mexico's avocado production is concentrated in the State of Michoacán from where exports can reach the North American market. Espinosa-Wingate explains: “Unusually, Michoacán can produce avocados all year round because it does not suffer from harsh winters and the nature of its mountainous terrain allows a series of harvests as cultivation can be stepped from the highest areas during the warmest months to the lower areas in the cooler months.”
The European market still remains valuable, representing 12 per cent of total export value during the last three years. And within the European market France is felt to offer the most potential for the Mexican avocado as in the last three years it has imported more than $8 million worth of Mexican produce whilst the UK imported $1m worth and Spain $500,000.
Still, Mexico is constantly striving to improve the quality of its exports and one of the country's most recent efforts involves the establishment of the official quality mark “México Calidad Selecta”, to guarantee the superiority of the product in terms of its qualities. The mark will indicate conformity with Mexico's Official Standards (the NOM and the NMX) as well as with International Standards and with other requirements of care and quality from consumers in Mexico and the world. The aim of the scheme is to differentiate the products, thus increasing and consolidating sales.
The registration of this quality mark was granted by the IMPI (Mexican Institute of Industrial Property) at the request of the SE (Ministry of Economy), the SAGARPA (Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fishery and Food) and the BANCOMEXT (Mexican Bank for Foreign Trade).
Direct benefits of the mark include guaranteeing the quality of any Mexican product bearing the sticker, differentiating and segregating markets in favour of products of superior quality, creating and developing strength in export markets and improving prices and adding value to the product. In the first phase of the scheme, the products involved include avocado, Mexican lime, mango, asparagus, cauliflower, broccoli, onion, chilli, and strawberry.
Quality issues aside, one of the biggest barriers to purchase when it comes to avocados, is the inability of consumers to know when the fruit is ripe. Little wonder then that around 85 95 per cent of avocados in the UK retail market are now sold ready-to-eat. For this to happen, the fruit undergoes a triggering and ripening process that involves creating a ripening environment of 20°C and 90-95 per cent humidity with pressurized air circulation for three-five days. But it is during this process, or very soon afterwards, that the latent fungi are triggered and suddenly break out into a full blown fungal infection, resulting in great waste.
StePac L.A, a modified atmosphere and modified humidity packaging company, has recognised the problems of this and worked to create a system that includes technological advanced MA/MH packaging and a series of support services provided by field experts.
StePac's Xtend(r) MA/MH post harvest packaging has three different products specifically designed for avocados, the Ripening Bag, the Consumer Bag and the Long Storage Bag. The Ripening Bag holds fruit in its unripe, stone-hard green condition for up to 40 days. It allows fruit to be ripened by heat triggering alone, enabling the fruit to naturally produce its own ethylene. The fruit is fully ripened in the bag. The micro-atmosphere surrounding the fruit is uniform allowing the fruit-ripening rate to be uniform.
“The Ripening Bag is extremely convenient,” says Assaf Shachnai, StePec's avocado and subtropical product manager. “You don't need to take the fruit out of the bag before ripening, in fact you can keep the fruit in the bag on the shelf, where it continues to preserve the quality and the shelf-life of the fruit in the bag.”
Long Storage Bags store green, stone-hard avocados in an unripened state for up to 60 days. The bags are then discarded before ripening. This process enables the fruit to arrive to the import market in a similar state to when the product was harvested which allows for an increased availability in the retail market as the season may be extended with the long-term storage option.
After fruit has been triggered it can be put in an Xtend(r) Consumer Bag. This provides six to seven days shelf-life elongation and after purchase the bag provides an additional six to seven days extended life in the home fridge.
StePac works with Greencell to handle the ripening process of avocados from Coliman, a privately owned family business in Mexico, for Waitrose.
Greencell provides Waitrose with baby avocados bagged in Xtend(r) Consumer/Home Ripening Packaging. The avocados are packed at the source in Consumer Bags and then shipped to the UK. There the avocados are triggered for ripening in the bag and sent to Waitrose. The bag continues to preserve shelf-life for six-seven days until it is purchased and brought home.
“The Xtend(r) Home Ripening Bag offers an additional six-seven days of extended freshness preservation and can be resealed until the last of the fruit are consumed. StePac's Xtend(r) MA/MH packaging solution for avocados enhances the storage, shelf life and home life of the fruit. It also makes a convenient packaging that allows for a moderate ripening process that promotes natural ripening and retards fungal development and decay,” says Shachnai.
