South Africa’s biggest exporter of avocados to the UK multiples is developing technology to supply pre-prepared portions of the fruit, as the industry looks to add value in the face of a strong rand, soaring production costs and falling profit margins.
Hall’s is hoping to be the first to hit the market with prepared avocado. MD Robert Snaddon said it was a natural progression from the ripe and ready programme. “It’s not that easy, because it has to be entirely natural and not frozen.”
As the South African avocado season gets under way, Snaddon warned the UK could not assume it would always remain the number one export target.
Faced with increasing supermarket-specific packaging and quality demands, and fierce competition from South America, the industry was finding the UK less lucrative. “There has been a continual squeeze that has ended up on the producer’s doorstep,” said Snaddon. “We will do everything to meet the market, but if it no longer works we will find others to go to.”
Snaddon said the industry was dynamic enough to respond to changing conditions. Hall’s estimates its own 2005 output at 1.9m cartons. But fears of a crash in the price of Hass are growing as SA growers rush to get avocado on the market amid warnings of reduced availability from a frost-affected Spain.
Despite South African Avocado Growers’ Association efforts to persuade producers not to flood the market, many farmers have been demanding that packhouses work round the clock amid rumours of É8 being fetched per carton.
Claire Hu

Topics