Market Access Update

The Avo Insider and its contents are a member-only service of Avocados Australia. You will not see these articles in the media or our other publications.

Since my last article, we have completed the ten trial shipments to India, received approval by Japan Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) for our accredited property list to begin exports from WA, completed Thailand accreditation for Western Australia growers and packers, discussed progress with Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) for New Zealand market access improvement specifically regarding avocado sunblotch viroid (ASBVd), begun building some frameworks around market access improvement for Japan, taken important steps toward progressing market access to Vietnam and China, and collaborated with project authorities to make critical and positive strides toward the launch of the forthcoming $100M Fruit Fly R&D investment project, AM22000.

India

The India trial shipment taskforce made up of members from DAFF, Austrade, Avocados Australia (AAL), and industry, successfully orchestrated the execution of shipments to Delhi and Mumbai under the Indian draft protocol. The tenth and final trial shipment arrived in India on 5 July, and we are excited to announce the successful completion of the trial shipment process. Again, a big thank you to all the growers and packers that submitted an EOI to participate in the trial shipments, and to trial partners; Costa, Simpson Farms, Don Fort Packing, The Avolution Group, and Sunny Spot Farms, for their diligence, patience, and investment, to achieving a great outcome for industry.

AAL and DAFF are working toward an indicative timeline to try and have growers and packers registered and accredited late August-early September, to continue the supply chain into India. All involved are working feverishly to ensure there is as little disruption to the supply chain into India, particularly given the trial shipment avocados are already being successfully sold through retail to Indian consumers.

The Minister for DAFF, the Hon. Murray Watt, invited AAL CEO, John Tyas, to attend a department outbound trade delegation visit to India in early July where John had the opportunity over several days to network with Minster Watt to progress the launch plans of Australian avocados into India, but also spend time discussing with Minister Watt other important key steps the avocado industry needs to take to drive access into our priority  markets such as Vietnam and China, and market improvement pathways for Japan and New Zealand.

Japan

April through June, the WA industry underwent their annual Japan registration and audit/accreditation process. All applicants passed with flying colours, and subsequently the accredited list has been approved by MAFF. We witnessed the growth of the applicant pool with 7 new growers and 1 new packer bringing the total accredited pool to 22 growers and 5 packers. Exports began early July with demand looking greater than in previous seasons.

Gaining market access improvement to Japan for the broader Australian avocado industry is a key performance indicator for AAL and aligns with the market improvement plan of DAFF. Japan’s MAFF have provided technical feedback to DAFF on the barriers we need to address and overcome to ensure our fruit is pest free. AAL are working with researchers, namely research partners of the Fruit Fly investment project, AM22000, to curate a research plan, and data package, sufficient to meet technical barriers.

Thailand

The Industry Advice Notice (IAN) for registrations for Thailand opened at the same time as Japan. WA growers and packers were able to register in sync with Japan registrations. Late June, Thailand Department of Agriculture (DOA) rubber stamped the official gazetted protocol. DAFF will undertake Thailand audits and accreditation in preparation for an accreditation visit by the Thailand DOA late August. Thailand DOA will require industry to complete one verification shipment as a the requirement of the protocol. This shipment can be shipped immediately after Thailand’s verification visit, and it could be expected that WA could have access to export early October, and as early as mid-September if an air freight shipment is allowed for the verification.

New Zealand

ASBVd is a quarantine pest for New Zealand. New Zealand currently requires Australian avocados to be sourced from orchards that have been planted using approved stock known to be free from ASBVd. Under these conditions a grower must provide documentary evidence for registration with an official tree certification scheme such as ANVAS, with reference to indexed and non-indexed blocks. While this approval of orchards based on ASBVd-free planting material is an effective means of demonstrating freedom from ASBVd, these conditions mean that if records such as the identification numbers for the planting material are not available, or trees have been replaced without appropriate records, the orchard may not be approved for export.

A new statistical survey protocol has recently been developed for demonstrating freedom from ASBVd at the production site level. The protocol has been published in a peer-reviewed journal (Bonnéry et al. 2023) and implemented in a software app that allows users to optimise sampling strategies for testing to demonstrate freedom from ASBVd.

Australia is proposing to include orchard surveys based on this protocol as an alternative option to demonstrate freedom from ASBVd to the import conditions for fresh Australian avocado fruit to New Zealand. This option would enable avocado orchards to be retrospectively certified as pest free places of production based on surveying, which would allow pest freedom certification where historical records of the ASBVd-free planting material are not available.

DAFF made this submission to the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries on 25 May and are awaiting feedback.

Vietnam

DAFF are currently at the tail end of negotiating access for blueberries and plums to Vietnam. It is expected these negotiations will be finalised in 2024. Avocados are sitting within the Industry Market Access Assessment Panel (IMAAP) negotiation pool, alongside several other commodities, as next in line for potential negotiation. Work is ongoing to best prepare avocados in the event we are chosen as the next commodity within the pool. I will make a visit to Hanoi, Vietnam, week 7 August, to meet with Vietnam Ag Counsellor, Tony Harman, and Commissioner for Trade and Investment, Chris Morley. Meetings with importers, the Fruit and Vegetable Association and retailers will also take place. Intelligence gathering will assist in the ongoing development and execution of our Vietnam Market Access Strategy.

 

China

There has been much discussion broadly through Commonwealth Ministers, including our Prime Minister, the Hon. Anthony Albanese, on the thawing and rebuilding of bilateral trade relations between China and Australia. We have witnessed the export re-ignition of horticultural and agricultural commodities into China, and healthy rhetoric from senior Chinese diplomats. China, as we know, remains a burgeoning market for all goods and services from all corners of the globe, and in particular, Australian products. Financial prosperity remains trending upwards across their middle class and data indicating the appetite for avocado reflects increasing demand.

Similarly, to Vietnam, DAFF continue to push the negotiations with General Admission of Customs China (GACC) for apples and blueberries. Avocados sit alongside other commodities in the IMAAP pool for an opportunity to be next in line for negotiation. I will embark on an exploratory visit to Beijing and Shanghai immediately following Vietnam, to meet with Chinese avocado importers, our China Agriculture Counsellor, Leah Cuttriss, and Chinese customs and quarantine authorities, to begin understanding the biosecurity barriers we may face in any likelihood of future technical market access negotiations. A key meeting will take place in Beijing with China’s leading avocado researchers from Nanning, to help understand where the opportunities lay for forming a China-Australia Avocado Alliance that will work to advance our market access credentials. It is planned for a broader industry trade delegation visit to China in September to participate in the China Fruit & Vegetable Conference (Guangzhou, September 21-23). This trip will also help to drive our market access agenda more broadly, expand and develop our networks across the Chinese avocado industry, importer community, Australian-China Chamber of Commerce, retailers, and other key influential constituents that help raise the awareness of Aussie Avocados in China which can help drive market access prioritisation.

AM22000

AM22000 is the new market access fruit fly R&D investment project. One of the fundamental goals of this investment is to derive robust data packages to assist in the negotiations for market access and/or market improvement. The project has an 8-year tenure and will afford circa $100M of investment to drive substantial and tangible R&D outcomes. AAL has been working closely with Hort Innovation and the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries project management team to best prepare broader department and industry consultation. It is expected the project will begin in the third quarter of 2023. The project will launch at EKKA, Brisbane, August 14, in which AAL will be participating.

BACK TO EMAIL

This article was produced for the July 2023 edition of the Avo Insider.

Taking your views to the Minister

The Avo Insider and its contents are a member-only service of Avocados Australia. You will not see these articles in the media or our other publications.

The Federal Government has, over the last few months, made a raft of significant changes that will potentially affect the profitability and ongoing viability of growers in the horticultural sector.

Some of the changes will increase wage costs and compliance requirements and likely lead to workforce shortages.

Some of the changes include:

This follows on from the industrial relations changes as a result of the first and second tranches of legislative reforms that the Federal Government have passed through Parliament since December 2022. More changes seem likely.

We know the changes the Federal Government has introduced are having, and will have, an adverse impact on your business and we want to hear from you. To further assist Avocados Australia’s advocacy activities, we are seeking your feedback so we can share your views with the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, the Hon. Murray Watt.

To help us take your views to the Minister we have setup a short survey of 5 Questions that we need you to answer.

CLICK HERE and complete the survey.

Your participation will ensure that we have an accurate picture of the issues facing the industry and be able to reinforce our industry’s position.

This article was produced for the July 2023 edition of the Avo Insider.

Research Development & Extension Coordinator appointed

The Avo Insider and its contents are a member-only service of Avocados Australia. You will not see these articles in the media or our other publications.

Mary Burton has been appointed as the RD&E Coordinator at Avocados Australia. Mary will work to optimise the performance of the Hort Innovation avocado RD&E investment program. She aims to ensure that the program is well coordinated, responsive to industry needs and delivers on industry expectations. Mary is a trained agronomist, has extensive experience in the horticulture sector and has worked in the macadamia industry. Her experience in horticultural research and contemporary extension practices ensures that projects are designed to achieve maximum impact for growers. Mary is passionate about maximising the value, relevance and quality of R&D investment for the industry.

BACK TO EMAIL

This article was produced for the July 2023 edition of the Avo Insider.

Message from the Chair

The Avo Insider and its contents are a member-only service of Avocados Australia. You will not see these articles in the media or our other publications.

Welcome to Avo Insider, our members-only enewsletter.

It is good to be able to speak to all of you about the issues, opportunities and activities affecting our industry. Clearly, the current low prices are of concern, and I know that you all feel the same way. We need to find pathways for our significant production volume that provide sustainable returns and I know that significant work is going on to develop those pathways.  Avocados Australia’s Strategic Plan for 2022 – 2026 identifies the strategies we have in place and are striving to deliver and if you haven’t read this document, I recommend that you make time to read it.

Last week we heard the best piece of news, that all ten shipments of Australian Hass avocados were successfully dispatched to India. I know there are a few more steps to complete but we are very close to having market access to India. This is positive news for our industry, and I want you all to know that the Avocados Australia team is working hard to support growers with the exporting process so you have more options for your avocados. If you have any questions about market access, contact our Chief of Export – Market Access Richard Magney, email marketaccess@avocado.org.au or call 0477 969 607.

I find that looking at the Export Reports on the Best Practice Resource (BPR) is a good way to track our exports and to see how we are performing. If you are thinking about exporting some of your volume or are thinking of increasing the amount that you export this is valuable information. If you don’t have access to the BPR contact Amanda Madden in the office, email her at admin2@avocado.org.au or call 1300 303 971.

Last week I attended Hort Innovation’s Peak Industry Body (PIB) Forum. This was the second forum of this type aimed at discussing improvements and sharing insights about the new advisory mechanisms. Avocados Australia is further along in the process compared to other PIBs, so it was good that John was in a position to share our experiences with the gathering. I believe that we have turned a corner with Hort Innovation, and they are now willing to engage and consult. This can only mean good things for our industry, in terms of market development and RD&E. Read the article about this in this issue. More PIB Forums are planned. The next event I will be attending is the R&D Forum that is taking place in Brisbane on 6 September. I look forward to sharing the outcome with you all in the next issue of Avo Insider.

I wish you all well, wherever you are located across the country. Now more than ever, how we operate can only be improved by working together as a unified industry. This is particularly so for helping advocacy efforts, and it is also true in business. In the coming weeks I plan to take a tour of the east coast and to meet some of you. I am looking forward to this and in sharing my experiences.

All the best,

Brad Rodgers
AAL Chair

BACK TO EMAIL

This article was produced for the July 2023 edition of the Avo Insider.

CEO roundup

The Avo Insider and its contents are a member-only service of Avocados Australia. You will not see these articles in the media or our other publications.

Welcome to the July issue of Avo Insider.

By now Infocado contributors would have seen the Quarterly Infocado Report for July 2023. The updated forecast for the coming quarter (Q3) of July, August, & September of 2023, is 6,742,596 5.5Kg tray equivalents which is an increase of 10.32% compared with the previous quarter and 12.18% more than the volume dispatched the same period last year (6,010,721 5.5Kg tray equivalents). We are expecting to see volume out of Western Australia increase a remarkable +159% compared with last season.

There are now a range of options for WA growers to export their fruit and a new emerging large market for all regions with market access to India soon to be finalised.

Export volumes for FY24 are starting very strongly with about 60,000 trays per week being exported at the moment.  However, for the domestic market to achieve sustainable pricing over the coming months, this needs to be even higher.  Based on a rough analysis of historical volumes and prices, to achieve a supply and demand balance in the domestic market over the next seven months, we need to be exporting over 100,000 trays per week.  With the new markets that are now available, this should be possible during this period, but the effort required to achieve this cannot be overstated.

I know everyone is very concerned about the current low prices, which are simply the result of supply exceeding demand. At our recent Avo Connections event held at the Adelaide Convention Centre on 5 June, I gave a detailed presentation on the state of the industry, what we need to consider moving forward, and what we are doing to positively influence the supply and demand balance.

I recommend that you watch the video of my presentation HERE.

Finalisation of India market access is getting closer with the news last week that all ten trial shipments of Australian Hass avocados have been successful received by Indian officials. This is good news for all Australian Hass avocado growers. There is progress in other export markets as well, and I recommend that you read Richard Magney’s Market Access Update article. Richard’s role, which is funded directly by AAL, is solely focused on driving market access for Australian avocados in line with our export strategy.  This is one of our highest priorities for industry.

You would be aware of the new challenges on the horizon in terms of labour reforms and the proposed new Biosecurity Protection Levy.  We are not alone in our concerns, and we are working with NFF and other organisations to have a strong united position on both of these issues.  We have a short survey that I’d like you to complete that will provide us with your views on the Federal Government’s changes and how they are adversely impacting on your business. The findings from the survey will inform our advocacy efforts and we intend to take your views directly to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, the Hon. Murray Watt and the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, the Hon. Tony Burke MP. The nature of the sweeping changes they are bringing about shows a clear lack of understanding of the horticulture sector and of agriculture generally. They need to know the harm they are causing and they need to hear it from growers.

CLICK HERE to complete the survey and share your views.

I’d also like to introduce you all to Mary Burton, the newest member of our team who joins us in the new position of Research Development & Extension Coordinator. Mary’s role is to optimise the performance of the Hort Innovation avocado Research Development & Extension investment program and I look forward to her driving great outcomes from your R&D levy investments.

All the best,

John Tyas
Avocados Australia CEO

BACK TO EMAIL

This article was produced for the July 2023 edition of the Avo Insider.

Development of the New Extension project progresses

The Avo Insider and its contents are a member-only service of Avocados Australia.

The principal extension project (AV17005 Avocado industry development and extension) is concluding and Avocados Australia is working closely with members of the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) and Hort Innovation to facilitate a “co-design” of a new five-year extension project. The previous project was responsible for delivering a range of events and resources to help the avocado industry access, understand and implement best practice information. This included information from current and previous Hort Innovation Avocado Fund R&D investments. The ultimate goal of the project was to help improve orchard productivity, fruit quality and overall profitability.

Avocados Australia knows that the Australian avocado industry is experiencing significant changes in market dynamics and industry profitability due to substantial increases in production volumes. The “Australian Avocado Industry Extension Strategy 2023-2027: Transition to 2027” document was developed last year and sets out where priority extension strategies and practice change can meet the industry challenges, and reach the strategic outcomes sought by industry. The project team responsible for developing the new principal extension project believes that extension services will play a vital role in transferring the knowledge, developing the skills, and fostering the innovation required to achieve the strategic outcomes sought by industry.

The “co-design” of the next project means that future extension services are being developed alongside industry and there will be industry endorsement of what will be delivered. Next week over two days growers, researchers and advisor representatives will participate in the “Avocado Industry Extension Co-Design Workshop” to provide industry advice. The workshop will review the current gaps in industry services in regard to the extension strategy recommendations. Based on these gaps it will then focus on what the core priorities for industry extension services are, and how to deliver these services as effectively and promptly as possible. Facilitated group discussions will be looking at a range of extension service options for the different practice changes sought and will be comparing what will work best and why. The project will start in 2023.

This article was produced for the May 2023 edition of the Avo Insider.

Avocados Australia’s Strategic Plan for 2022-2026

The Avo Insider and its contents are a member-only service of Avocados Australia.

Avocados Australia’s Strategic Plan for 2022-2026 is available online here. The Strategic Plan outlines four industry priorities (see Figure 1) and the strategies for delivering on those priorities. Avocados Australia’s vision is for a globally competitive and trusted Australian avocado industry. Our purpose is to support Australian growers to become world leading sustainable producers. The Strategic Plan will guide our organisation’s activities and we will report back to our members and the greater industry on our progress.

Figure 1: AAL’s four industry priorities.

The Avocados Australia Board is confident that the Strategic Plan will help the organisation deliver on the areas of most concern to the Australian avocado industry.

Enquiries related to the Strategic Plan can be directed to the Avocados Australia communications manager by email to co@avocado.org.au or phone 1300 303 971.

This article was produced for the May 2023 edition of the Avo Insider.

Varroa Mite incursion in NSW – Update

The Avo Insider and its contents are a member-only service of Avocados Australia.

Current Status

The New South Wales (NSW) Government continues to work through its emergency response to the varroa mite (Varroa destructor) incursion in New South Wales. As of 28 April 2023, there were 153 premises which had bees infested with varroa mite. The new detection falls within an existing Emergency Eradication Zone (EEZ). There is a slight extension of the EEZ West of Rothbury (see zone map provided). Most infested premises are located in the Central Coast, Newcastle, and Hunter Valley regions, with one property in north-west NSW near Narrabri, one on the north coast near Coffs Harbour and two near Taree.

There are 3 emergency zones in place. Different restrictions apply depending on where honeybees and hives are in NSW. The zones include:

  • 10km eradication emergency zone (red)
  • 25km surveillance emergency zone (purple)
  • general emergency zone (blue), which covers the remaining areas of NSW.

Biosecurity Queensland has advised that the Queensland border is now reopened to New South Wales General (blue) Emergency Zone beekeepers with a strict permit system in place. The Victorian border is now also open under similar restrictions.

Emergency Zones Map

 

The NSW Department of Primary Industries has euthanised more than 20,000 hives as part of the eradication program. Bees in infested hives are being humanely euthanised to prevent the spread of varroa mite. Managed hives are being prioritised for inspection.

Eradication is vital

The new detections were discovered during ongoing surveillance activities completed by NSW DPI, and the recent detections of new Infected Premises (IPs) is testament to the extensive work of tracing and surveillance in remaining focused on the goal of eradication of this destructive pest. The eradication of this pest is vital because – if left unchecked – it could significantly impact avocado growers through the loss of free pollination from wild European Honeybees and increased cost of managed hives.

Avocados Australia is continuing to have input into the eradication response and as part of that process we learned of New Zealand’s experiences dealing with their varroa mite incursion. We recommend that all Australian avocado growers view this video – if you haven’t done so already – that outlines the impact that Varroa destructor is having on the New Zealand bee and pollination industries here.

Categorisation & the response

Varroa destructor has been recategorized recently as a Category 2 Emergency Plant Pest (EPP) under Schedule 13 of the Emergency Plant Pest Response Deed. Therefore, it is deemed to have “High public impact”. As this is the case the funding share of the expense of eradication is 80% the Government and 20% industry.

The Consultative Committee on Emergency Plant Pests (CCEPP) continues to meet as the response progresses. The CCEPP (of which John Tyas is a member) and National Management Group (NMG) (of which Kym Thiel is a member) remains of the opinion that eradication of Varroa destructor is technically feasible based on the response and current information available.

The NMG has endorsed a Response Plan which covers up to $55.3 million for response activities through to 30 June 2023. This cost is shared between the Australian, state and territory governments, and affected industry parties.

A Response Plan version 2 is currently being developed to extend the response plan to 30 June 2026. The Response Plan version 1 was actioned in the first year of the incursion working to contain the pest and do everything needed to eradicate it.

Avocados Australia is preparing a Business Case that will outline how the industry will pay for its contribution, once the costing has been finalised, this will be communicated to industry for consideration. The industry’s cost is dependent on the updated response plan (version 2) and agreement around applying cost sharing retrospectively.

For more information about the NSW DPI response visit the website: here.

This article was produced for the May 2023 edition of the Avo Insider.

Market Access Update

The Avo Insider and its contents are a member-only service of Avocados Australia.

Market access news could not be at a higher fever pitch right now with the India market access announcement by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and Minister for Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF), The Hon. Murray Watts. Early March, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited Delhi, India, to meet with his counterpart, Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They discussed many facets of the new Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement, and amongst the acknowledgements were the approvals of a bilateral agreement for India to provide market access for Australian hard mature Hass avocado, and Australia to provide market access for Indian okra. Avocados Australia (AAL) is extremely grateful to Peter Creaser and his DAFF team for their persistence, patience, and strategic negotiating skills to help give opportunity to Australia’s avocado growers, packers, and exporters, to access a burgeoning Indian consumer avocado market. AAL also thanks our Indian Agricultural Counsellor, Kirin Karimal, for providing much in-market operational support to DAFF in the process to securing market access.

Although technical market access has been approved, there remains a final process of ten trial shipments that DAFF and industry must achieve together, to enable protocol gazettal, and prior to broader market access for industry. The ten trial shipments will be inspected on arrival and assessed under the necessary quarantine requirements in keeping with the draft protocol. DAFF and industry expect to begin these trials in June with good quality fruit from the Central Queensland region and moving to the Southeast Queensland region thereafter (pending the time taken for the ten shipments to be fulfilled and signed off by the India quarantine inspection authorities). DAFF will require growers and packers wanting to export to India to undertake a necessary registration and audit process, similar to the Japan process, and to attain accreditation to enable approval for market access.

A fortnight prior to the Indian market access news, the Indian-Australian Business & Community Alliance (IABCA) Business Awards were held in Delhi. IABCA is an Australian based not for profit, but it was decided to have the awards in India for the first time. The Avolution Group (an Australian marketer and exporter) won first place for Excellence in Innovation. We congratulate The Avolution team on this result.

Market access to Thailand remains in a holding position for Western Australia. DAFF and the Thailand Department of Agriculture have, in principle, completed the technical market access negotiations. However, we await a visitation from their inspectors to undertake final audits on selected sites within Western Australia. We are advised that Thailand will go to election May 14, 2023, to form government, and once government is formed, we expect to see accelerated activity with the inspection, and then to protocol gazettal.

Vietnam is considered a high priority market for Avocados Australia. We remain vigilant in our communication efforts across multiple domestic and foreign jurisdictions to drive market access to Vietnam. At present, DAFF are in a two-by-two negotiation with other products, and we are pushing our agenda to make avocados the product next in line for negotiation once the two-by-two are finalised.

Western Australia, Tristate, and Tasmania all have market access to Japan. AAL is progressing discussions with Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (QDAF) and DAFF around market access improvement for the remainder of Australia. Late 2022, DAFF submitted a new data package for MAFF to review in efforts to revisit market access for the remainder of Australia. MAFF requires Australia to provide further R&D work.

Australia doesn’t have avocado market access to China, but China’s avocado imports and consumption rates are growing at extraordinary rates. For over ten years, Avocados Australia has been pushing for Australian avocados to be prioritised for market access negotiations by DAFF.  Recently, AAL has taken the initiative to open dialogue with the China Entry-Exit Inspection Quarantine Association (CIQA). CIQA is a key pillar in market access to China and was formed by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the People’s Republic of China. CIQA engages on a daily, and permanent basis, with the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) and General Administration of Customs China (GACC). Discussions remain positive and we hope to hear news over the coming months on the itinerary for both an Australian avocado delegation visit to China, and a Chinese avocado/CIQA delegation visit to Australia. We believe a strong relationship with CIQA will assist with our market access strategy.

This article was produced for the May 2023 edition of the Avo Insider.

Avocado quality boosted: Great results from AV18000 & AV19003

The Avo Insider and its contents are a member-only service of Avocados Australia.

Industry projects AV18000 and AV19003 that have been monitoring and supporting avocado industry quality improvements since 2019 concluded in March. Both projects advanced industry’s quality performance through increased knowledge and advice in quality monitoring and management. Key project outcomes shared in the final reports are now available (links below) and includes:

AV19003

  • Hass fruit quality (Australian and imported) at retail increased to 85% acceptable fruit in 2020-22 from 78% in 2008-15. Similarly, Shepard improved to 97% acceptable fruit in 2021-23, up from 90% in 2008-15

Above, Figure 4. Percentage acceptable Hass fruit (Australian and Imported fruit) in Australian retail stores from 2008 to 2022. Datapoints from 2008 to 2015 are from project AV11015, and 2020 onwards is from AV19003.

  • Differences in quality by production region were identified. Highest quality was from the Western Australia and Tristate regions. Quality of Australian grown Hass outperformed imported fruit, with only 76% of imported avocados acceptable at retail.
  • Major retailers outperformed independent retailers. This suggests that future quality improvement programs need to work with the independent retailers, as well as major retailers.
  • Links between quality and retail factors were identified. Ripe fruit displayed in trays, rather than loose on display, had less bruising. Samples of fruit which were more uniform in firmness had less bruising. Firmer fruit had less bruising and rots. Fruit which spent less time in the supply chain between harvest and retail had lower levels of rots.
  • The supply of immature fruit remains an issue. Immature Hass and Shepard were identified at the start of the supply season in samples grown in North Queensland. Future maturity monitoring should be targeted to these periods of risk.
  • Suppliers and retailers were well engaged. 83% of suppliers are now more aware of their fruit quality issues, and 79% are more aware of fruit quality by production region. In response to quality feedback received, 58% of suppliers said they have made practice changes, or conducted follow up activities. All major retailers used their results to make practice changes in their businesses. Retailers and suppliers are supportive of continuing quality monitoring at retail.

Read more in the AV19003 final report here.

Above, Figure 26. Acceptable fruit of Australian suppliers who had at least three samples collected during the project.

AV18000

  • Practice change made by participants in this monitoring and benchmarking project included:
    • Changes to fungicide spray programs, equipment and phytophthora management
    • Changes to postharvest fungicides and their application
    • Changes to fertiliser programs, including amounts, ratios of elements and timing.
    • Improved real-time monitoring of supply chains, especially the pack-shed departure temperatures
    • Assessing and feeding back information to growers on the fruit quality that reaches the consumer
    • Exporters being more aware of fruit quality risk and putting in place procedures to manage those risks
  • As a result of the tracebacks undertaken on consignments with performance below the 90% industry standard, the project team and collaborators gained a better idea of the risk and management strategies (Figure 9) effective at managing rots and flesh discolouration. The yellow boxes indicate those strategies that were most commonly identified as the root causes of poor quality in tracebacks.

Above, Figure 9: Risk factors and risk mitigation used to manage the incidence, severity and speed of appearance of body and stem end rots in avocados.

The project confirmed that there are a small number of best practices that have the greatest impact on the risk of the incidence, severity and speed of appearance of anthracnose and stem end rot. They include:

  • An effective, timely and responsive in-field spray program utilising a combination of copper (or Serenade Opti®) & azoxystrobin (Amistar® or Luna Sensation®) orchard sprays, applied as per label recommendations.
  • Healthy active trees in relation to tree age, disease status (Phytophthora) and nutrition (with a suitable Nitrogen:Calcium balance in the fruit for fruit robustness)
  • Canopy management maintaining an open tree structure to reduce likelihood of infection and allowing good spray coverage
  • Appropriate handling during harvest and packing plus the use of a postharvest fungicide treatment (Graduate A+™or Sportak®) suitable for their destination market.
  • Management of factors to promote even ripening and good fruit quality for the consumer. These factors include a minimum dry matter of 23% for Hass, uniformity of fruit maturity in the consignment, storage and transport at 5˚C, best practice ripening, effective ripening processes and aiming for a total chain time of <15 days when the fruit reaches the consumer.

Read more in the AV18000 final report here.

These projects have identified significant further potential to increase industry quality performance by working in a more coordinated and targeted manner under a new project AV22011 Monitoring avocado supply chain quality. AV22011 will deliver 3 years of further monitoring and support services from 2023 to 2026. Avocados Australia will lead this project in partnership with Applied Horticultural Research and the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, seeking a further 10% increase in the proportion of fruit samples that meet industry quality standards (fruit samples with <10% internal defects).

This article was produced for the May 2023 edition of the Avo Insider.