Australian avocados: Kristen Beck, Tom Silver make plea to consumers

Australian avocado producers have pleaded with consumers to buy as much of the fruit as possible to help ease an industry-wide supply burden.

Australian avocado producers are pleading with consumers to ease a rare oversupply burden by buying more of the much-loved fruit.

Speaking on Wednesday, Avocado Australia chief executive John Tyas said the current price of avocados – as low as one dollar per fruit at major retailers – would drive farmers out of business if the situation didn’t change.

“It’s very tough for growers at the moment, many of whom are doing it at or below the cost of production,” Mr Tyas told News Corp Australia.

“At one dollar apiece, growers are losing money,” he said.

Mr Tyas said the issue of oversupply was ironically tied to Australians’ insatiable demand for the fruit.

He said the industry has responded to demands of consumers in recent years, with many new orchids beginning production this year.

“It’s created a sudden hump in the market, which hasn’t grown sufficiently to cope with that volume.”

Northern NSW avocado farmer Tom Silver said the industry’s rapid expansion over the past two years has resulted in approximately double the number of avocados in the country this year.

“When you go to the shops, don’t just buy a ripe one, buy a few hard ones for the next couple of days,” Mr Silver, an avocado grower in northern NSW, said on Wednesday.

Mr Silver, who is also the Tamborine and Northern Rivers director of Avocados Australia, said there were currently as many as 450,000 trays of avocado in circulation in Australia – an increase of nearly 200,000 from 2020.

He said while it has created a “really big supply” of avocados, the quality “remains very high”.

Mr Silver said it was hard to say precisely how much the price of avocados had fallen on the east coast as a result of the glut, but said farmers had “taken a hit at the gate.”

He said the cost of fertiliser had doubled, while freight and petrol prices continue to soar.

“That cost needs to be born by farmers – that’s the nature of the relationship,” Mr Silver said.

He said while most avocado growers had been spared the worst of recent flooding, the current problem was another setback from floodings endured earlier in the year.

Sydney-based nutritionist Kristen Beck said the nutritional benefits of avocados remained “under recognised”.

“They have so many health benefits,” Ms Beck said.

She said “robust” scientific research demonstrated the benefits of avocados in aiding weight loss, maintaining a healthy weight and controlling your waist circumference.

Ms Beck said avocados are packed full of healthy fats which combat inflammation, and that it was a common myth the fruit could lead to weight gain.

“Eating avocados improves the absorption of healthy nutrients in other fruit and vegetables,” Ms Beck said.

Ms Beck said a healthy adult can easily eat as many as one avocado each day, so long as they were maintaining a healthy variety in their diet.