The Mexican avocado season runs year-round, with a transitional period in July when the late fruit is harvested in the highlands and the new fruit begins in the low-elevation areas. This year, Alfredo Rodriguez Sr., president and CEO of Villita Avocados says the transition has been slow and delayed until August, primarily due to climate effects and an increase in the minimum maturity standard for harvest, aiming to improve consistency in flavor and quality.
Late fruit, commonly known as Negra, is still available in limited volumes in the market in August. Meanwhile, the new fruit, Loca, is starting to fill the market pipeline. Over the next four weeks, Mexico will need to compensate for the volume decline due to the seasonality of California and Peru says Rodriguez Sr.
In Mexico, avocados for export to the United States are sourced from both Michoacán and Jalisco. "The orchards with more volume are currently those with the Mendez Hass, a genetic selection that matures about one month earlier than the normal Hass. However, the sizing is predominantly on the smaller end of the size curve," says Rodriguez Sr., adding that larger sizes such as 36s and 32s are hard to come by and around the middle of October will be when those sizes increase in availability. Additionally, Nayarit, Colima, and Morelos are already producing fruit, contributing to the Mexican market and other destinations for non-certified fruit.
The need for innovation in avocados
Variety can be a challenge in the avocado industry. As Rodriguez Sr. notes, the industry mainly depends on one variety—Hass—for most of its sales. "We need to take a page from the apple growers and develop more varieties of avocados in Mexico to fill gaps in seasonality and sizing," he says. "We need innovation to improve productivity and reduce water usage to add incremental growth to our commodity."
Villita has expanded its grower partnerships in organic avocados and aims to grow within the avocado category by evolving its bagged avocado offerings. The introduction of a club pack of eight-count avocados is seen as having potential for incremental sales says Rodriguez Sr. "The bottom line is, avocado bags and other multiple packs with promotional coupons are the best vehicles to increase avocado consumption," he adds.
With Mexico returning to the market with increased volume, promotional prices will be key to reigniting excitement for Mexican avocados. There are plenty of opportunities with additional volume coming from Jalisco to reinforce the already strong position of Michoacán.
For more information:
Rob Ybarra
Villita Avocados
[email protected]
https://villitaavocados.com/