Latest News From Avocados

Santa Paula, Calif.-based Calavo Growers Inc. reported fiscal 2018 first-quarter net income of $7.1 million, up 36% from $5.2 million a year ago.

John Patrick has joined Eco Farms sales staff to focus on retail, foodservice and wholesale accounts east of the Mississippi River.

National editor Tom Karst and staff writer Ashley Nickle discuss the possible effects of upcoming tariffs, the latest in the Argentine lemon situation, and two companies who made news with avocados this week.

The Hass Avocado Board has begun its annual board election process for open domestic hass avocado producer and importer seats and alternates.

Oxnard, Calif.-based Mission Produce is launching a new product — Grade 2 avocados in packaging that dubs them Emeralds in the Rough.

Citing the lack of “kill steps” for three fresh herbs and a welcome environment for pathogens in guacamole and other processed avocado products, the Food and Drug Administration is testing them for pathogens.

Kingsville, Ontario-based greenhouse grower Red Sun Farms is getting into the avocado business.

Market Fresh Produce LLC, Nixa, Mo., has a new bulk avocado box.

A social media campaign focused on the Winter Olympics earned the California Avocado Commission nearly 200,000 impressions and 50,000 video views.

Building on the momentum of avocados and blueberries, Peru-based Camposol reported unadjusted earnings of $125 million in 2017, up 65% from 2016.

The avocado is truly at a rare point in popular culture, with restaurateurs willing to tie the fate of their business to it alone.

Avocados From Mexico is set to launch its fourth consecutive Fanwich campaign, tapping into college basketball excitement to promote avocados on sandwiches, burgers and hot dogs.

Retail avocado prices dropped 9.3% while total dollars increased by 11.2% for the four weeks ending Dec. 3, according to the latest retail scan data.

Cartons of Del Rey Avocado Co.’s conventional avocados from California now sport the American Heart Association’s Heart-Check logo.

While millions of TV viewers watched Olympic skating and snowboarding events, avocados were grabbing the gold on “Shark Tank.”

With February being American Heart Month and with hass avocados ruled heart-healthy by the Food and Drug Administration, Mission Produce is running a promotion around heart health.

Mission Produce avocados, marketed under the Mr. Avocado brand, have found a wide acceptance in China, and a new promotion in a high-tech supermarket is expanding brand awareness.

Interko, a provider of fruit ripening rooms and cooling systems, is marking 50 years in business with a presentation at Fruit Logistica in Berlin.

Aiming to beat last year’s 7.5 billion media impressions with its new Super Bowl 52 commercial, Avocados from Mexico is receiving good buzz about its 30-second “#GuacWorld” spot.

Despite the largest wildfire in California damaging some avocado groves, the crop is forecast at 374.6 million pounds — almost double the 2017 crop.

This week's AgDay Packer TV segment highlights stories on food safety cooperation and avocados.

Within five years, Pharr, Texas-based Villita Avocados plans to have 100 acres of hass/greenskin hybrid varieties growing under shade protection in south Texas.

Avocados from Mexico is again making a big splash at the Super Bowl and the days before the big game.

Hector Soltero has rejoined avocado company Mission Produce Inc. as director of sales planning.

Although the total value of Ventura County, Calif., agriculture products fell slightly in 2016, with a 4.2% drop, the top four crops all made some gains over the previous year.

After being approved for access in August, hass avocados from Colombia will enjoy a slow but steady increase in exports to the U.S. in 2018.

Westfalia Fruit International has partnered with Chile-based Agricom, a move designed to position Westfalia as a leading supplier of avocados to the Americas.

Led by multi-million dollar losses to avocados and citrus, estimated product losses from December’s Thomas Fire in Ventura County, Calif., tops more than $25 million.

Avocados From Mexico has again partnered with Old El Paso on promotions leading up to the Super Bowl.

California saw about half its avocado crop in 2017 compared to the previous year, and growers were optimistic for a big 2018 to capture ever-growing demand.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Pharr, Texas, busted a shipment of avocados hiding more than 1,000 pounds of marijuana.

Representing 65% of fire-damaged farm land, avocado groves by far bore the brunt of the losses from December’s Thomas Fire in California, Ventura County Agricultural Commissioner Henry Gonzales said Dec. 20.

Most avocado category growth in 2016 did not come from the shoppers most fascinated with the fruit, according to a Hass Avocado Board report.

Staff writer Ashley Nickle and national editor Tom Karst discuss his latest reporting on how the California wildfires are affecting avocado production and his stories this week on USDA school lunch nutrition standards.

Ten days after the start of the Thomas Fire in Ventura County, the blaze still was active and preventing accurate assessments of damage caused to avocado and citrus groves.

The highest-spending quarter of avocado shoppers account for nearly three-quarters of avocado purchases, and the Hass Avocado Board described the behavior of that group in a recent report.

More than a week after it began, firefighters reported California’s massive Thomas Fire was only 25% contained the evening of Dec. 12.

As firefighters continued to battle a massive fire in Ventura County, it is too early to assess the impact of the Thomas fire in Ventura County on Calavo’s avocado supply, the company’s CEO said in a statement.

U.S. consumers are seeing a huge jump in the volume of Chilean avocados on store shelves.

U.S. fresh market holdings of apples were 131.1 million cartons on Dec. 1, 9% more than the same time a year ago.

President Donald Trump declared a state of emergency for California in response to wildfires that began Dec. 4 and still continue.

California avocados that drop to the ground because of high winds — known as windfall fruit — can no longer be harvested and shipped.

Industry leaders are waiting the smoke to clear before making any definitive damage assessments after a raging wildfire hit one California’s key hubs for avocado and lemons.

The Hass Avocado Board has a new executive committee, following the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s new board member appointments.

Can avocados stay hot?

Causing unknown damage to avocado and citrus groves, a fire dubbed the “Thomas wildfire” in California’s Ventura County covers tens of thousands of acres and shows no signs of slowing down.

Boosted by increased acreage, improved pest control and favorable weather, Mexican avocado production and exports are projected higher for the 2017-18 season.

Henry Avocado Corp., Escondido, Calif., is boosting its East Coast presence with a cold storage distribution center in Charlotte, N.C.

Berry People, a new organic berry distributor in Hollister, Calif., made its first shipments earlier this month.

Avocado unit sales dropped and dollar sales soared during the weeks leading up to Father’s Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day this year.