Mid-season competition has reduced prices for South African avocados in the traditional markets of Europe and the UK during recent weeks, after a strong season to date.

By mid-May, South Africa had shipped around 20 per cent of the current export crop of 92,000 tonnes.

Sources said around 2,000-2,500 tonnes will be arriving weekly from now until mid-October in those European markets.

After that, the season will taper off until arrivals in late November or early December.

”The EU and UK market was strong with good prices until mid-April, but prices are coming down due to a significant increase in total volume coinciding with increased volumes from SA and Peru,” said Subtrop’s CEO Derek Donkin.

Unlike the past few years, the country’s avocado exporters have seen very few logistical issues this season.

Despite the fact that South African avocado shipments will be focused on traditional markets for some time, new developments in the east seem to be gaining most attention.

The first shipments to China arrived and were sold successfully in May. It is likely that China, India and Japan will feature strongly in future export plans.

“SAAGA’s (South African Avocado Growers’ Association) approach is to grow the demand for avocados in countries such as India, rather than promoting South Africa as an origin,” Donkin continued.

Fruitnet has learned that this work will be done as part of a broader approach by World Avocado Association, of which South Africa has been a leading partner in recent years.

Similar campaigns elsewhere in traditional markets have boosted consumption of avocados significantly over the years.

“The aim is to grow the size of the pie so that all suppliers are able to grow their volumes with quality products,” explained Donkin.

“To this end, SAAGA is helping to fund a generic campaign in India to educate the Indian consumers regarding the culinary versatility and health aspects of avocados.

“Small volumes have been shipped to India and China to date, and some shipments to Japan are planned for later in the season,” he outlined.

”In new markets such as these, it is expected that exporters will be cautious and start slowly to ensure that the logistics are understood and regulatory requirements are met.

“Growth in supply to these markets will the gradual as a result.”

Donkin added that these new markets provide options to diversify South Africa’s exports, and this will reduce risk to the industry.

“Importantly, we also gain a share in growing markets with significant growth potential.”