Increasing export demand for avocados is expected to help ease the financial pain being caused by an ongoing massive oversupply of the popular fruit.
Subscribe now for unlimited access to all our agricultural news
across the nation
or signup to continue reading
A new report from agribusiness lender Rabobank said Australia's avocado industry was facing another year of low prices exacerbated by a 20 per cent increase in production to a record 139,000 tonnes.
However, the report says there is growing global demand for the fruit with 13pc of Australia's avocados now exported, in addition to a compound annual growth rate of 10 per cent in domestic consumption during the past decade.
However, neither growing domestic and export markets had been enough to counter the issue of oversupply.
In its recently released Global Avocado Update 2024, RaboResearch analyst Pia Piggott said an issue was more than 1500 hectares of avocado planting were expected to reach maturity this year and a further 4000ha of orchards were expected to mature in the next five years.
"It is rising export demand which is offering the biggest market growth opportunity for the Australian industry," she said.
Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia remain key markets, but there has also been significant growth in volumes to Japan (up 193pc) and 'the rest of the world' (up 621pc).
However, export prices, on average, have declined by 9pc in 2023 to A$4.59/kg.
"New market access to Thailand and India will also help diversify exports," Ms Piggott said.
"However, this will unlikely be enough to keep prices from a downward path."
The US continues to be the world's largest importer of avocados.
In the 2022-23 season, US consumption exceeded 1.35 million tonnes for the second time, while imports for the 2023 calendar year hit an all-time high of 1.26mt, the report said.
"Over the past decade, we've seen the US become increasingly dependent on avocado imports - primarily from Mexico - and we anticipate US avocado consumption and import demand will continue to increase in the years ahead," Ms Piggott said.
The report says avocado imports have also grown in Europe and Asia, and noteably China.
"Global avocado exports surpassed 1mt in 2013, 2mt in 2018, and we expect avocado exports to exceed the 3mt milestone as early as 2025," Ms Piggott said.
"Mexico remains the world's largest avocado exporter and is likely to surpass 1.5mt in avocado exports in coming years," Mr Piggott said.
"Peru is projected to approach 650,000mt by 2026, and we anticipate Colombia will soon surpass Spain and Kenya, securing its position as the third-largest avocado exporting country.
"We are also seeing an increasing number of South American countries becoming significant avocado exporters - like Brazil and Ecuador - while Africa is far from reaching its potential when it comes to avocado production."
