$11 avocados now thing of the past
REMEMBER the bad old days of the $11 avocado? That was back in May.
The passage of the seasons has subsequently done wonderful things for deprived palates.
Vegeland in Christchurch has been advertising avocados at 39c each on Facebook.
At Veggie Boys in Dunedin they are three for $1.99.
In Waikato, a roadside stall went further, selling small avocados for $3 for a bag of 10.
However, the industry organisation, New Zealand Avocado, said these prices were unrealistic.
They probably stemmed from the practice of lossleading, when stores marketed goods at a loss in order to entice people into their shops.
‘‘It actually costs about $1 to grow, put through the supply chain and market a New Zealand avocado,’’ its chief executive, Jen Scoular said.
‘‘So nobody is making a profit when avocados are sold for $1.’’
Ms Scoular added the world price was $2 per avocado, so people selling them for a lot less than that were probably trying to attract value to other aspects of their trade.
Traditionally, the practice of lossleading lures customers into a shop with the offer of very cheap goods.
That loss is recovered when people discover other things they did not realise they need, and pay a higher price for them.
But lossleading or not, Ms Scoular said avocado prices would generally stay low for another couple of months.
If you can get avocados below cost, and buy them in large volumes, what can you do with them?
Food writer Annabel Langbein has produced some ideas, including making use of the freezer.
‘‘If you make your favourite guacamole, and put in lots of lemon juice so it does not oxidise and go brown, then you can freeze it to eat when avocados are not in season,’’ she said.
Another option was to use avocado as a bulk filler for sweet treats, such as chocolate mousse.
But she urged people not to cook avocado, as it ‘‘tastes revolting’’.
She could not understand recipes that called for avocado on pizzas.
‘‘My favourite thing at the moment is to have toast, with almond butter and sliced avocado for breakfast.’’