“The avocado market has gradually recovered and become healthier”

After more than 10 years working alongside his father Gabriel Burunat, then president of Commercial Fruits at Rungis, William Burunat created Nueva Vista in 2021. Today, this human-sized company has established itself as a specialist in avocados, pomegranates, figs and dates, with a particular focus on the Peruvian origin. "Our aim is to continue what we did with my father, but with a few changes." Nueva Vista distributes its products to French wholesalers, as well as supermarkets in France and in Europe, mainly Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg, but also in the UK. William Burunat assesses the first part of the avocado campaign and the outlook for the coming weeks.

"The avocado market has gradually recovered and become healthier"
"Overall, the Peruvian Hass avocado season is running at a deficit, with some sources reporting almost 20% less than last year, although these figures have yet to be confirmed," explains William Burunat. This drop in volumes is due to the El Niño weather phenomenon. Volumes have decreased, and sizes as well. "After a more favorable start to the season than last year, mainly due to an earlier end to the Spanish campaign, the market became more complicated around the middle of April, with volumes accelerating and accumulating in Europe, with a peak in arrivals of mostly small sizes at the beginning of May (between 500 and 600 containers from Peru unloaded per week in Europe). The market has gradually recovered and stabilized, with a drop in export volumes from May onwards. Today, the market is very tight and prices are high due to the lack of merchandise."

The outlook for the rest of the campaign is "rather good", according to William. "There should not be any major production peaks, and the Peruvian regions will arrive later in the season, on a dynamic market with lower supply."

"The challenge for our sector today is adaptability and flexibility"
The El Niño phenomenon has not only affected avocados, and the sector will have to demonstrate resilience. "El Niño has also had a major impact on other crops such as blueberries, grapes and pomegranates. In the case of pomegranates, the season is drawing to a close, with production down by an estimated 50%. Nueva Vista remains France's leading importer of pomegranates from Peru this season, in terms of volume. Weather disturbances have been affecting more and more regions. "These are phenomena that cannot be predicted. The challenge for our sector today is flexibility. We have to be able to adapt to different market situations resulting from the climate, whatever the product. But William remains confident. "It is difficult to make predictions, but the avocado remains a promising fruit whose consumption continues to grow, so we are optimistic for this product. Sales are good and avocados' popularity is on the rise."

"Freshness from abroad": with this slogan, the "young, dynamic and passionate" Nueva Vista team intends to offer the best Peruvian products.