Welcome

Thanks for clicking through for more information about avocado quality monitoring here in Australia. This article content and images (click to open without text overlay) have been developed for you to share in digital and print communications you have with your stakeholders, on behalf of the Australian avocado industry’s Monitoring avocado supply chain quality project (AV22011).

Each edition will contain timely insights for wholesalers, marketers and independent retailers. Article content will be focused on opportunities for driving improved returns for retailers through increased purchase size and frequency of Australian avocados.

Articles are designed so that they can be added together into one feature under the first heading when this is suitable for your communications platforms.

Samples of independent retailer displays suggest 83% of avocado purchases would result in a satisfied customer

Avocado industry quality monitoring results reported earlier this year, identified a large variation in the proportion of acceptable (less than 10% damaged flesh) fruit at different retailers.

A large opportunity for independent retailers to increase repeat purchases and to leverage the strong Australian avocado supply was identified, with 83% of avocado purchases at independent stores sampled being classed as acceptable in comparison to around 90% acceptability at major retailers.

Independent retailers had slightly more firm-ripe and ripe fruit in comparison to major retailers, and this could explain the slightly poorer quality at independent stores. Softer fruit had more bruising and rots, which implies that firmer fruit should be sold at retail. However, consumers demand ready to eat fruit, so there is a clear trade-off between sales, and quality. Providing ripe fruit at stages 3-4, rather than stage 5 ripe and ensuring fruit is not stacked on top of each other on display, assists reducing flesh bruising.

Previous research has shown that consumers squeeze more fruit if it is difficult for them to find one at the preferred ripeness stage. Uniformly ripe fruit should therefore be displayed – including a split display of fruit which clearly differentiates the two available stages of ripeness for consumers.

Industry project to monitor quality providing key services

A new industry quality monitoring project is now underway to continue to provide valuable insights to all supply chain stakeholders about opportunities to increase Australian avocado sales through improved quality.

Fruit quality will be monitored in major and independent retail stores in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth and maturity monitored at the wholesale market. Detailed, timely feedback on quality will be provided to the supplying packhouse, and deidentified reports will be provided to retailers sampled.

Independent retailers are encouraged to be proactive in addressing quality concerns raised in assessment reports provided. If you need assistance identifying the potential cause of issues, you can email quality@avocado.org.au and our expert team will assist you.

It is great to see some independent retailers utilising these reports on their displays to give consumers confidence in the quality of avocados available for purchase at their store.

August to October 2023 overall quality excellent – Check the results!

Fruit quality across all retailers has continued to improve in October, with 98% acceptable fruit, up from 91% in September. Retail monitoring in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth has shown consistently high quality between cities. All growing regions have met or exceeded the industry’s 90% acceptable fruit target.

Bruising was the only cause for unacceptable fruit and has fallen below the 12-month average. This reduction in bruising could be attributed to a shift in fruit ripeness, with a 20% increase in average firmness at purchase. The average fruit age has remained consistent, with a slight drop to 14 days from pack to purchase. Retailers can explore the detailed results in Retail Quality section of Best Practice Resource (BPR) on the Avocados Australia website.

Access the resources available!

Register for access to the BPR to explore further reports and insights including maturity monitoring reports (dry matter %) for recent months. All recent reports are also explained further in a webinar presentation on quality results over the last few months (scrub to 28m:50s). Maturity monitoring has concluded for 2023 and will recommence with the start of the Shepard season in January 2024.

Acknowledgement

This page content has been prepared by the Monitoring avocado supply chain quality project (AV22011). This project is managed by Avocados Australia, has been funded by Hort Innovation, using the avocado industry research and development levy, with co-investment from Avocados Australia, Applied Horticulture Research, the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development and contributions from the Australian Government.

Please contact the Avocado Quality Project Team on quality@avocado.org.au for more information.