As grocery prices soar, surplus of avocados keeps cost down

We’re all aware of the eye-watering cost of fruit and veg at the moment - thanks to a perfect storm of factors - but there’s one unlikely produce item that’s bucking the trend.

Cast your mind back. It’s 2016: Donald Trump has been elected President of the United States, Leonardo has finally won his Oscar, and everyone from Bernard Salt to your grandma’s next door neighbour is telling you you’ll never afford property because of your penchant for that prehistoric-looking fruit, the avocado.

But the days of “being chastised for ordering smashed avo in a cafe of a morning” could be well behind us, Avocados Australia’s Tamborine/Northern Rivers Regional Director, Tom Silver, told news.com.au.

By now we’re well aware of the current eye-watering cost of fruit and veg thanks to a perfect storm of factors, including devastating flooding in Queensland and northern NSW, inflation, supply chain issues and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The much-maligned iceberg lettuce, for example, has experienced a 300 per cent price rise in recent months, prompting many fast food outlets to controversially sub in cabbage on their menu items due to shortages of the leafy green.

Avocados have seemingly bucked the price pressures in the fresh produce aisle — with the humble green fruit available in abundance and at great value. Picture: Supplied

The much-maligned iceberg lettuce has experienced a 300 per cent price rise in recent months.

Last week, food and grocery wholesaler Metcash, which stocks thousands of stores across Australia, said about 60 per cent of its suppliers had sought price hikes amid rising inflation.

“We are continuing to work closely with our suppliers and retailers to help shoppers manage the impact of inflation by providing better value options through offering a wider range of products at competitive prices,” group chief executive Doug Jones said.

He added there was “uncertainty over the level of inflation going forward” as well as how the impact of inflation and other cost of living increases could affect customer behaviour in Metcash’s retail networks.

Yet avocados have seemingly bucked the price pressures in the fresh produce aisle — with the humble green fruit available in abundance and at great value.

Asked why the current challenges facing other Aussie growers and produce haven’t impacted avocados in the same way, Mr Silver said that while the fruit doesn’t “like huge amounts of rain long-term, we don’t get affected in the short-term like small crops of lettuces and tomatoes that are all sitting outside would”.

“[They’re a] fairly hardy sort of fruit, whereas anything sort of leafy and outside and exposed — and just with the level of rain that’s come through, up and down the east coast, it has a huge effect on that,” he added.

We’re all aware of the eye-watering cost of fruit and veg at the moment. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Naomi Jellicoe

The price hike is thanks to a perfect storm of factors. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Naomi Jellicoe

While the fruit was once considered the one to bankrupt us all, Mr Silver — whose parents started an avocado farm 35 years ago in the northern NSW hinterland, and which he took over full-time in 2000 — said it’s unlikely we’ll see that happening again.

“There’s been a very big industry expansion over the last couple of years, really on the back of how popular they are and how profitable it’s been,” he explained.

“There’s a huge amount of new amount of new plants that have gone in, and it’s actually been quite a good growing season for most of the growing regions across Australia.

“So avocados — there are always going to be dips and crests in supply, but the old days of major shortages and avocados being in the news for the wrong reasons are probably finished.”

Is it ironic that we used to be reprimanded for buying avocados and now they’re one of our most accessible produce items? He thinks so.

“It’s great — because price is an impediment to people buying more avocados in the past, and I do thank the lettuce industry for taking the pressure off us in the short-term,” Mr Silver said.

Australian Avocados grower and Tamborine/Northern Rivers Regional Director, Tom Silver. Picture: Supplied

“But I really hope that in time, we reach a nice equilibrium where farms are profitable again, and consumers are getting really good value and not being chastised for ordering smashed avocado in a cafe of a morning.”

Mr Silver’s farm markets “most of our crop locally, mainly into local cafes and restaurants and a little bit to independent retailers” and is involved at every step — growing, packing and distributing.

Along with other Aussie avocado growers, he wants shoppers looking for something nutritious, versatile, and tasty to know “that avocados are plentiful, they’re really good value, and they’re really good quality at the moment“.

“We want to encourage where consumers might’ve just bought one ripe avocado for the night, we’re trying to say get out there and buy two or three,” he added.

“[Have] one for later in the week, and always have them on the hand in the fruit bowl to try and help us [growers] out and get through this current situation.”

Originally published as As grocery prices soar, surplus of avocados keeps cost down