June export quality report

Shepard season ends on a high

Now that the Australian Shepard season has concluded, it’s time to review the overall quality of exported Shepard avocados.

Across the 2026 season, the Avocado International Retail Quality Benchmarking project (AV24015) collected and assessed 69 samples, which achieved an average acceptability rate of 98% – an excellent result (Figure 1).

Quality was strong across both monitored markets, with Hong Kong recording 99% acceptable fruit and Kuala Lumpur slightly lower at 94%.

Quality monitoring will continue across Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur, with four samples collected weekly from major retailers in each city.

Project showcased at Avo Connections 2026

AHR’s Adam Goldwater presented results from the project, focusing on benchmarking Australian avocado quality against competitor countries in the key export markets of Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur.

The presentation was an opportunity to introduce the project to the broader industry and showcase some of the initial results gathered since monitoring began. Key topics covered included:

• a project overview and introduction
• Hass and Shepard quality results to date across Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur
• an overview of the key defects affecting fruit quality
• high level supply chain observations.

Among the results presented was the continued strong performance of Australian Hass against competitor fruit in both Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur.

Between November 2025 and May 2026, Australian Hass achieved an average acceptability rate of 91%, compared to just 67% for competitor fruit collected over the same period.

A key driver of this difference was rot levels, with Australian fruit consistently showing fewer unacceptable rots than competitor samples. This aligns with findings from the domestic avocado quality project (AV22011), with Australian Hass also showing fewer rots than imported fruit domestically.

In the export markets, fruit age is likely a contributing factor, with Australian Hass averaging 25 days from packing at the point of purchase, compared to 32 days for competitor fruit.

More information

For more information, email Henry Hyde at mailto:henry.hyde@ahr.com.au or Adam Goldwater at adam.goldwater@ahr.com.au.

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 19 June 2026 issue of Guacamole, our e-Newsletter.