The summer is a good season for the avocado. "Particularly when it's warm, you notice demand is very high," says Ive Lambert of Starfruit. "At the moment, avocados are mainly coming in from South Africa and Peru. We even have some flown in from Kenya now. Due to a shortage in 'greenskin', the Hass market has now also increased. Because the market has been 'emptied', there's a shortage of RTE avocados since late last week. In addition, a shipment from South Africa has been delayed. The boat only came in yesterday, which drained the market somewhat. The shipment has now been unloaded, but it will take two to three days for them to be ripen. For the ready-to-eat story, it will be difficult in the coming days, but it will bounce back." Due to the shortage, the prices have gone up sharply in a few days. "It depends on the size. For the bigger Hass, it's around 10 Euro for the non-ripened fruit. For smaller sizes, a few Euro less are offered."
Shortage
Avocado is a product that's become more and more commonplace in recent years. Around ten years ago, it was really exotic, but nowadays the consumer buys it almost as easily as a kiwi. For Starfruit, the avocado is an important product. The share has increased in recent years, mainly for the Hass variety. "85% of what we sell in avocados is Hass, 70 to 80% of which is delivered ripened. The Fuerte share is smaller. Particularly the immigrant population prefers the green variety. Sales of 'greenskin' are decreasing every year, but despite the decreasing sales, there's still a pretty significant shortage in green avocados. Consumers who make a summery salad, often add an avocado into the mix."
Ripening
Ripening avocados is a minute process. "It also depends on whether you're at the start or end of a season. At the start of a new season, the oil content and dry matter is relatively low, so the avocado takes longer to ripen. You'll often need four or five days for ripening then. And the taste of an avocado becomes stronger as the season advances." He indicates that in situations like the present, some companies opt for accelerated ripening. "We consciously choose not to. There are some who take the gamble, but the problem is that it's more difficult to control. If you ripen too quickly, things can go wrong very quickly as well. And an avocado that's too ripe is not much use."
