Mexico wants to sell their avocados in NZ
Prices could fall if world’s biggest producer heads this way
Cheaper avocado prices may be in store if the world’s biggest avocado producer starts exporting to New Zealand.
AVOCO, a partnership between New Zealand’s two biggest avocado exporters, Southern Produce and Primor Produce, said Mexico had set its sights on New Zealand and Australia as an export destination.
But it said it would be difficult for other growing nations to gain market access to New Zealand or Australia due to strict phytosanitary measures. “But outside interest should serve as a reminder to the industry that it could not afford to be complacent about its future,” AVOCO’s marketing and communications manager, Steve Trickett, said.
Earlier this year, Australian Government officials confirmed they were starting a risk assessment for importing fresh avocados from Chile — the start of a process that could lead to that country gaining market access. As it stands, only avocados from New Zealand can be imported into Australia.
The Association of Producers and Packers Exporters of Avocado in Mexico (APEAM) this month signalled its interest in exporting to Australasia, stemming from Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for TranPacific Partnership (CPTPP) that was signed in March. The agreement involves 11 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including New Zealand, Australia and Mexico, the world’s largest avocado growing nation.
Marked seasonal crops in New Zealand and Australia, combined with growing demand for fruit, makes the two countries attractive to new markets, according to APEAM.
“While success by Mexico to gain avocado market access to Australia and New Zealand is far from guaranteed, the company says it has a watchful eye on supply competition in Aus
tralia,” Trickett said in a statement.
New Zealand’s avocado sector has grown strongly in recent years. Last week, Stats NZ said domestic avocado prices had risen 37 per cent in May to record levels. The average price for a 200g avocado rose to $5.06 in May 2018, up 37 per cent from $3.69 in April 2018. The price in May this year, up 50 per cent from $3.38 in May 2017, is the highest ever for avocados since the series began, Stats NZ said.
ANZ bank rural economist Con Williams said local prices could fall if exports from Mexico went ahead.
“The price will depend on the quality of the fruit that you get from Mexico,” he said. “Mexican avocados are a bit smaller in stature and I’m not sure if the quality is quite as high as local fruit.”