AHR May 2026 Quality Report

Quality report: May 2026

Weekly quality monitoring has continued this month in Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong as part of the Avocado International Retail Quality Benchmarking project (AV24015) which is benchmarking Australian avocado quality against competitor countries in key export markets.

Exported Shepard quality remains high

Throughout May, Australian Shepard avocados across Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur have demonstrated consistently strong quality, with all 6 samples recording 100% acceptable fruit (less than 10% internal defects) (Figure 1).

This positive result comes despite a temporary quality dip recorded in Kuala Lumpur during April, when 7.5% of fruit exhibited unacceptable levels of vascular browning, pulling overall quality down to 92%. While this figure still exceeded the industry benchmark of 90%, quality has since fully recovered, returning to 100% in May.

Australian Hass exports off to a strong start

Australian Hass exports are off to a strong start in the Queensland season, with all samples collected in May recording 100% acceptable fruit.

This is the strongest result since monitoring began in November 2025 (Figure 2), marking an excellent opening to the season. As Hass export volumes continue to grow, quality at retail will remain closely monitored.

Quality monitoring will continue across Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur, with four samples collected weekly from major retailers in each city. Project updates will be shared regularly through monthly Guacamole summaries and Talking Avocados articles, as well as at regional forums and webinars.

More information

For an in-depth quality summary and full project update, join us at Avo Connections 2026 in Adelaide. Find out more here.

Contact

For further details, contact Henry Hyde henry.hyde@ahr.com.au or Adam Goldwater adam.goldwater@ahr.com.au at Applied Horticultural Research.

Acknowledgements

The Avocado International Retail Quality Benchmarking project (AV24015) has been funded by Hort Innovation, using the avocado research and development levy and contributions from the Australian Government. Hort Innovation is the grower-owned, not-for-profit research and development corporation for Australian horticulture.

This article appears as part of the 22 May 2026 issue of Guacamole, our e-Newsletter.