It was predicted before the start of the Peruvian avocado season that volumes could be down by as much as 25-30%, but for UK importer Pacific Produce, that was not the case. "Based solely on sea statistics until week 36 ETD, we had in total 22,706 containers leaving Peru against 24,138 in 2023, that is just 6% less so far this year," explains Mirko Infantes from the company.
There was indeed a drop in overall volumes from Peru which was caused by El Nino, with some farms losing a tangible percentage of their crops.
"There was a flood of small sizes during April and May, while big sizes were short. That translated into low prices for the small fruit and high prices for the big fruit. However, towards the end of the season, small fruit is in high demand, big sizes get good prices, but the programmes are mostly covered."
Europe is the main client overall for Peruvian avocados, due to the proximity with Mexico it is this origin that supplies the vast majority to the US. There was a 10% decline to the volume of avocados from Peru to the USA this year.
"This season seemed to be more difficult on a size basis, too many 20/22s are being demanded in the UK, in some cases we had to drop in volumes, because the mix of sizes was not ideal."
South Africa had lower volumes this season due to bad weather. Also, the harvest of Hass had to be forced as the fruit could not stay too long on the trees.
The Peruvian season is coming to an end, there is still fruit on the water and low volumes still being shipped.
For more information:
Mirko Infantes
Pacific Produce
Tel: +44 (0)1865 877802
[email protected]
www.pacificproduce.co.uk