Earlier this week, harvest of Colombia’s new avocado crop started. “Volume of the Traviesa crop will pick up by next week and continue through August,” says Kraig Loomis with GreenFruit Avocados. “It is very exciting to see how much volume will be added this year in comparison to the past few years,” added Loomis. While the volume of the crop is much larger, the fruit is smaller this time of year. “We’re seeing a lot of fruit size 60 or smaller. This is caused by the trees still being young and carrying smaller fruit as a result. In addition, it is common for fruit to be smaller at the beginning of the season. “As the season progresses, the fruit will size up. By the end of July, we will see more size 48 fruit,” Loomis said.
GreenFruit is excited to get Colombian avocados into the US and Canadian markets as Colombia is a relatively new source. “We started shipping into the US a little over two years ago, but last year was our first year into Canada.” With retailers and foodservice companies accepting Colombian avocados, amazing opportunities are coming up. “Social media has helped in creating awareness for the health benefits of avocados and the versatility of the fruit. As a result, consumption is expecting to continue to grow.”
Organic certification
While the majority of GreenFruit’s Colombia avocados are conventionally grown, the company is also bringing in organic avocados for the first time. The company received organic certification for all 1,200 acres of its Colombia orchards in November of last year. “Organic offers a huge opportunity in both the US and Canada as retailers are excited to be able to offer organic as another option,” said Loomis. Since GreenFruit’s orchards received organic certification just six months ago, more organic fruit will start coming online in the next few years.
In addition to organic volumes, conventional avocado availability will continue to grow as well. As the trees are maturing, their production volume will increase. By 2024, GreenFruit expects to double the volume of conventional and organic fruit from Colombia compared to this year’s levels. By then, the country will be able to supply 11 months out of the year.
Harvest of the current crop was a bit delayed due to challenges with the amount of rainfall. “However, the rain set up nicely for this new crop that will go through August.” In addition, the rainfall also has resulted in a good outlook for the crop that starts in October and goes into 2024.
Visit GreenFruit at booth #909 at the West Coast Expo this weekend, May 19 and 20.
For more information:
Kraig Loomis
GreenFruit Avocados
Tel: (+1) 949.251.0963
[email protected]
www.greenfruitavocados.com