If you want to indulge in Avocado toast now is your chance
Australia’s avocado glut is “just the beginning” with domestic production tipped to jump by 40% in the next five years.
A supply boom means households have been enjoying more avocados at cheaper prices. However, agribusiness bank Rabobank suggests Aussies will need to eat and export even more, as growers grapple with soaring production growth over the next five years.
This year alone, the per capita supply of avocados is estimated to be up 26% on the previous year, equating to 22 avocados for every Australian, according to the bank’s analysis.
A bumper crop, mainly in Western Australia and Queensland in 2021-22, caused a national oversupply which led retail prices to plunge to a record low $1 each in June last year, and again in early July.
Retail prices this year are 47% below the five-year average for the fruit, putting pressure on farmers already dealing with rising production costs and labour shortages as reported.
The volume of avocados eaten by Aussie households jumped 31% in 2021-22 compared to the previous year, while they spent 29% less on them due to the lower prices.
At the same time, export volumes rose by more than 350% in the past year, the Rabobank report said. Domestic production will expand by 40%, or 50,000 tonnes in the next five years, industry forecasts suggest, with all of Australia’s avocado regions expecting growth.
It means Aussies and overseas markets will need to love locally grown avocados even more to use up the extra production in coming years.
So what are you waiting for? Indulge in this delicious fruit which is rich in healthy, good fats.
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