The South African avocado season is now underway, and fruit started to arrive on the UK marketplace at the end of March.
According to Derek Donkin, chief executive officer of the South African Subtropical Growers’ Association (Subtrop), which manages the affairs of the South African Avocado Growers’ Association (SAAGA), this season should bring a harvest of 36,000 tonnes (nine million four-kilo cartons) of avocados from the 12,000 hectares of avocado plantings throughout the country. “This is below average because of the unseasonable frosts we experienced in South Africa last year,” says Donkin, who compares it to the previous season’s offer of 9.5m 4kg cartons. “But it is a similar figure to last year, so at least we have been able to maintain our crop’s volume, despite the problems. In some of the growing areas, the frost affected the flowering of this year’s crop, which meant a slightly smaller volume. It has meant that a lot of trees this year have not reached their full yielding potential.”
South African grower Rob Kay produces avocados on 275ha on farms in the Sabie and White River areas of the Mpumalanga Province. The farms’ expected yield for the 2008 season is approximately 300,000 cartons, with 50 per cent of that volume destined for the UK. “It has been an average growing season, as many trees are still recovering from last year’s hail and frost,” says Kay. “But the fruit seems to be clean so far, with very little Cercospora [a type of fungi] on the green skins.”
The latter part of the South African avocado season has been drier, which has helped combat fungal diseases. “All in all, climatic conditions have been favourable, and we are confident of excellent-quality fruit this season,” adds Kay.
South African avocado growers produce a mix of green-skinned varieties and Hass, wherever the variety suits the land. This, Donkin maintains, allows the industry to extend its season.
“In the last five years, the season has been noticeably later each year, and this is down to the many different varieties grown in South Africa,” agrees Don Westcott, SAAGA’s chairman. “The last 10 years have seen a major change, and consumers have been buying more Hass, not just from South Africa, but from all over the world.”
A total of 53 per cent of the South African crop will be green-skinned this season, while 47 per cent will be Hass. This reflects the demand for Hass from the UK market, says Westcott, who confirms that South African avocado growers are planting more Hass trees than other varieties.
“Hass is easier to handle and consumers now recognise it as a variety,” he adds. “The UK is currently the largest ‘ripe and ready to eat’ market in the EU, and the Hass variety of avocado fits into that really well, as its hard skin makes it convenient to store and eat.”
SAAGA has seen many changes within the South African avocado industry since its inception in the 1960s. The organisation was originally established to make sure that the avocados exported were good quality and that shipments were controlled to ensure the future of the industry. Some 13 years ago, the emphasis changed to a generic promotion of avocados, targeting the UK market, and later France. “It was a move to a strategic focus on pushing the industry forward,” says Donkin. “No-one in the industry can do it on their own, but together, as an organisation, we can do so much.”
SAAGA has found that working with other avocado growers and exporters around the world has had a good effect on the South African avocado industry. “We talk to other avocado-producing countries, and that has had a major effect on the stability of the market,” says Westcott. “Producers can now plan and grow to demand. The avocado world looks to the industry in Europe and European consumers to improve, and we are now all singing from the same page.”
“It is a real success story and we all work together for the common good,” adds Donkin. “Of course, there is still competition, but we have the best of both worlds, and the competition is sustainable.”
This season, SAAGA’s media relations campaign will once more be fronted by South African presenter of the TV series 10 Years Younger Nicky Hambleton-Jones. The campaign will work with UK retailers Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Waitrose to increase consumption of South African avocados in the UK, by arranging samplings in store and giving out recipe leaflets. This year, the organisation will also run a competition to win a holiday to South Africa, in conjunction with the South African tourist board, which is keen to promote the country as a culinary destination. “The campaign will target new customers in the UK, whether they have stopped eating avocados for some reason, or have never tried them,” says the campaign’s Tanya Schreuder. “We want to make sure that people realise the health benefits of avocados, and dispel the myth that they are fattening. We have received a lot of feedback that has revealed that people believe avocados are full of calories, so we need to get over to them that avocados contain fats that are good for you.”
SAAGA has 400 members and 85 per cent of avocados exported out of South Africa come from the association’s growers. Financially supported by South African avocado growers, SAAGA runs regular grower meetings, known as study groups, where producers work through any issues, sharing knowledge along the way.
Westcott reveals that the main issue facing avocado growers in South Africa is the input costs that producers have to cover.
“Increasing oil prices, and therefore the price of diesel, as well as the increasing price of fertilisers and agro-chemicals, are all issues for producers,” he says. “Growers are finding that they are having to become more efficient, and produce more fruit per hectare to survive. From a marketing point of view, we need to push forward that volume and make sure that it is coming out of the country in a good and even supply throughout the season.”
Kay agrees that increasing yield is the way forward for the South African avocado industry. “Yield is certainly the biggest factor with regard to profitability,” he says. “With input costs going up monthly, it is so important to get more efficient in all departments.”
SAAGA is aware of the growing interest in the impact that modern farming has on the environment, and Westcott believes that the increasing cost of fertilisers and agro-chemicals helps avocado producers in South Africa move over to a more natural approach. While organic and Fairtrade avocados remain niche products within the South African avocado industry, the association encourages its members to farm in the most environment-friendly way, including using fewer pesticides.
“Because of rising costs, the growers have been looking more towards natural methods that are usually cheaper,” says Westcott. “But, in general, our members are aware that they need to maintain that balance and consider the environment as they do their jobs. We have seen this change come over the industry in the last six to seven years. Mostly, growers are not certified as organic, but have integrated natural farming methods. This is because they believe in the whole ethos of it; they understand that their future lies in the resources they have.”
More than 90 per cent of South Africa’s export crop will come from GlobalGAP-accredited farms, while strict South African labour legislation protects the rights of all workers and ensures fair treatment and pay. Furthermore, the South African Perishable Products Export Control Board (PPECB) monitors the quality of all outgoing fruit, and exporters across the industry use cold-chain technologies, such as controlled atmosphere, to ensure that quality is maintained in transit.
The South African avocado industry has come on leaps and bounds in the last five years, says Westcott. “The profitability of avocado production in South Africa and around the world has gone up, and the industry is really doing well,” he says. “There is definitely an optimistic feeling within the avocado industry at the moment, and growers are very keen to produce the fruit.”
Kay is also optimistic about the future of avocado production in South Africa. “Farming avocados certainly seems to be on the up, with regard to increased consumption on both export and local markets,” he says. “The health factor has certainly helped this and, if most factors are in our favour, it can be a profitable business and very rewarding.”
Due to SAAGA’s previous PR campaigns in the UK, consumption is growing. But there is still a good deal of work to be done, says Donkin, who believes that the UK market holds a great deal of potential for the South African avocado industry. “Avocado consumption is growing evenly in the UK, but further growth could be achieved and it has further potential,” he says. “It has been done before; in 2001 penetration stood at 15 per cent in the UK, and it is now 27 per cent. But 27 per cent penetration still offers a lot of scope for development, and there is definitely room for growth when you consider that consumption stands at 500g per person a year in the UK, whereas it is 1.5kg per person in France.”
The UK remains a key target for SAAGA, and approximately 30 per cent of the export crop is destined for the UK market.
“We are crossing our fingers that the climate will hold up,” says Donkin. “We have had a good start to the season with the rains and, hopefully, there will be a good winter. This season started earlier than usual owing to various climatic issues, and it is just as well, considering that the Israeli and Spanish avocado seasons finished earlier than usual.”
