Index Fresh wraps up California avocado season
From
| 4 October 2022
Overview of avocados from California in the U.S. market, complemented by charts from Agronometrics. Original published on September 30, 2022.
Index Fresh is sticking a fork in one of the tastiest California avocado seasons ever. For avocado growers, the 2022 season meant six months of record pricing and returns on their fruit. For consumers of California avocados, the 2022 season meant excellent quality fruit that was available early and often.
“This avocado season was an unrivaled success for Index Fresh customers and growers,” said Keith Blanchard, California field manager for Index Fresh. “The only thing more satisfying than eating a California avocado in 2022 was growing a California avocado in 2022.”
More than 275 million pounds of California avocados were harvested in 2022, and Index Fresh’s growers fetched a 67 percent higher return over 2021. The season started early and ended early, with California coming out of the gate with good quality avocados. This gave retailers confidence to step in with the assurance of steady supply.
Proving important to market stability, California’s harvest helped to buoy US avocado supplies when Mexico’s harvest was light throughout late winter and spring of 2022. The two suppliers complemented each other in the market, with California producing smaller early season fruit while Mexico harvested its later season mid- and large-sized fruit.
Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics.
(Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here)
“Year over year, as retail, club stores, and foodservice customers seek to diversify their countries of origin for avocado supplies, California has always, and will continue to be a strong, high-quality source for them to rely on season after season,” said Debbie Willmann, director of sales for Index Fresh.
The early harvest in 2022 came as a relief to California avocado growers who were able to conserve water by picking before the hottest summer temperatures. By the time the Sept. heatwave hit, Index Fresh growers had wrapped up their harvest, averting the risk of losing 2022’s precious crop to prolonged high temperatures.
“In some years, we face less favorable market conditions, or we witness extreme heat, cold or wind that reduce the available volume of California fruit. In 2022, however, the stars aligned with ideal market conditions and mild weather conditions. Our growers had a phenomenal year,” said Blanchard.
As a grower-owned corporation, Index Fresh relies on its well-developed, decades-old grower networks in all its sourcing regions. The company supports growers from the grove to market by providing a diverse set of resources, including Index Fresh’s state-of-the-art facilities, dedicated food safety team, seminar series and various incentive programs. Every step of the way, Index Fresh works to improve the supply chain and add efficiency for California avocado growers.
The News in Charts is a collection of stories from the industry complemented by charts from Agronometrics to help better tell their story.
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