June domestic quality report

Quality remains high as Shepard season nears conclusion

Australian-grown avocados maintained excellent quality in May, with 96% of sampled fruit deemed acceptable, matching the April result. Most of the fruit sampled was grown in North and Central Queensland, with a small proportion originating from Western Australia. A mix of Shepard and Hass was sampled, with Hass being the majority of sampled fruit for the first time since February.

Shepard sampled in May were 100% acceptable, while Hass followed close behind with 95% of samples being acceptable. Bruising was the predominant defect in Hass, with a slight increase in unacceptable bruising compared to April’s result. In contrast, unacceptable rots in Hass decreased from 4.4% in April to 0.3% in May (Figure 1).

The excellent quality of Australian-grown fruit in May 2026 is a large improvement on May 2025, when overall acceptability was 86%.

North and Central Queensland maturity monitoring wraps up

The AV22011 wholesale maturity monitoring program continued through May, with 22 Hass samples collected from North Queensland, Central Queensland, South Queensland and New South Wales. All samples reached the industry standard of minimum 23% dry matter (Figure 2).

Well done to these growers, whose fruit was sampled and exceeded the minimum maturity standard since 12 May 2026:

• Bellview Orchards
• Ceres Avocados
• Cherry Creek Orchards
• East Ridge
• Homestead
• Ferraro Farming
• Forsyth Springs
• Fresh Fields Farms
• Gallo Farming
• Golden Triangle Avocados
• Howe Farming Enterprises
• I&R Philpott Family Trust
• Laurel Gold
• Obie Fresh Walkamin
• Pressure Fresh
• Primo Produce
• Serra Farming
• SFF
• Stylianou
• Sunnyspot Packhouse
• Zerotime.

To make sure consumers have the best eating experience, ensure that fruit you harvest meets the minimum dry matter standards of 21% for Shepard and 23% for Hass. Continue to monitor your dry matter levels as your harvest progresses.

See more information on dry matter testing

For further information on retail and wholesale monitoring, email Adam Goldwater from Applied Horticultural Research at adam.goldwater@ahr.com.au or Anne Larard from Avocados Australia at idm@avocado.org.au.

Project highlighted at Avo Connections 2026

AHR’s Tyler Kristensen and Henry Hyde presented results from the Monitoring Avocado Supply Chain Quality project (AV22011) at Avo Connections 2026 in Adelaide.

The presentations were an opportunity to showcase project activities to the broader industry and discuss the insights gathered as the project draws to a close.

Tyler presented on trends in retail fruit quality over the length of the project and the impact of various internal defects, before focusing on bruising and how to mitigate it.

Henry presented on the technology trial component of AV22011, showcasing some of the supply chain quality devices tested. He covered their accuracy, usability and impact, before turning to the practical considerations around their use and broader adoption across the industry. Henry then joined a panel session to explore the impact of new technology on the avocado industry.

Acknowledgements

The Monitoring Avocado Supply Chain Quality (AV22011) project 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.