South African avocado producers are anticipating an up and down season in the UK, with a swing from initial under-supply to over supply later in the year.
Grant Blanden, marketing director with Afrupro, said: “We all know what’s happening in Spain and the market is definitely very short on avocados.
“In a normal season, there would be around 600,000 cartons a week coming into the UK and EU, but there appears to be capacity for 1.1 million. Normally you would expect to see the price collapse at those levels, but it’s holding steady.”
However, he said with the scramble to source product to cover the current gap, the market could find itself flooded later in the year as a result.
“People are running to everyone in the world to find fruit, but I think it’s dangerous as they’re going to countries that wouldn’t normally supply the UK.”
He said while the gap may only be for a month, the supplies from the new sources will continue for several months after that. “We’re facing a shortage now, but I think that by June and July we’ll be facing oversupply.”
He also said the quality of the fruit might not be up to the same standards as South African produce. “It’s frustrating for the producers because they’ve spent a lot of money getting the accreditation to supply the UK with the right quality produce, but that’s forgotten when there’s a shortage.”
To try and combat the problem, he said South Africa is looking to send its fruit early, with green skinned avocados being picked now and due to arrive in week 13.
“We can see the shortage and potential oversupply, so by bringing our season forward, we’re hoping to even out the supply through the season,” he said.
He said South African volume is likely to be slightly higher this season, and quality is looking good, although sizes are smaller: “There’s not a lot of big fruit this year, size is smaller, there is a much higher volume of baby avocados, 22s and upwards.”
He said the dry weather in the country may also have an impact as well: “Quality overall is looking excellent, but we may have to watch out for shelf life because when its been so dry, fruit doesn’t tend to last as long.”
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