The popular Hass avocado variety is in season from May to January, and outside of these months Shepard avocados are on the shelves from mid-February to mid-April. But many consumers say the Shepard is not up to snuff for the iconic smashed avo breakfast. Avocados Australia chief executive John Tyas said while Shepards had their place in the market, the negative attitudes towards the variety were polarising.
Avocados are produced year round in Australia with Hass representing 83 per cent of production in 2021/22, equating to just over 41,000 tons. The Shepard variety made up 14 per cent of total production, bringing in 9,900 tons. Australia is the only country in the world to commercially grow Shepard avocados, with far north and central Queensland the only producing regions in the nation.
Queensland farmer Jim Kochi, who grows both varieties at his property in the Atherton Tablelands, said the main reason Shepards were grown was to fill the gap in supply around autumn. "Shepard is only cultivated in Australia and only in Queensland because it's what we call a green skin low-land cultivar," he said.
Still, Kochi says choosing a favorite variety would be like "choosing a favorite child”. "People have different tastes, but I mean, if we only ever stuck with one vegetable or one fruit, it'd be a very boring life."
Source: abc.net.au