A diversified sourcing strategy will help Mission Produce fulfill avocado demand this summer, says Keith Barnard, senior vice president of global sourcing.
“Although Peru is historically one of the strongest origins during the summer, the industry has projected a shorter and smaller crop for the 2024 Peruvian season, mainly due to the impact of the El Niño phenomenon,” Barnard said. “As a result, we’re leveraging our diversified sourcing strategy and deep-rooted grower connections across California, Mexico and Colombia to complement our Peruvian supply and maintain the quality and reliability of our programs.”
Rabobank recently reported that Peru’s avocado output in 2024 will take a step back because of the effect of the El Niño climate pattern. Rabobank cited an earlier estimate from Peru’s avocado grower group, ProHass, which forecasted about 16% less Peruvian fruit this year compared with 2023.
When it comes to offering sales aids to retailers for Peruvian fruit, Mission Produce offers backroom posters, hands-on training and several other resources to promote a good experience with storage and handling, Barnard said.
“For example, our Quality team informs our customers of the precise temperature for storing Peruvian avocados in order to maintain product quality after delivery,” he said.
Global sourcing options
Barnard said Mission’s global sourcing is “unparalleled.”
“We are committed to delivering the world’s finest avocados to our customers, so we make it our priority to source only the highest-quality fruit available from all origins,” he said. “Heading into the summer months, we’re looking forward to supplying customer programs with avocados from California, Mexico, Colombia and Peru.”
The California season has beat expectations because of favorable springtime conditions, Barnard said.
“We’ve seen a plentiful fruit set, and orchards across the state have responded positively to the above normal rainfall from the past two winters,” he said.
In addition, the eating quality of its California avocados is top-notch, he said.
“We pick up the fruit the day our growers harvest it and bring it immediately to our California packhouse, which is located in Ventura County, close to many of our growers,” Barnard said. “We then hydrocool the avocados before sorting, packing, and ripening to enhance fruit quality, extend shelf-life, and minimize fruit damage. Our infrastructure is state-of-the-art and enables us to move substantial volumes of fruit — we have the capacity to pack up to 1.2 million pounds of avocados a day and ripen more than 343,000 avocados at once.”
Mission Produce has longstanding relationships with top growers across the state because of our full-fledged agronomy support, in-field service and competitive returns, he said.
Barnard said Mission Produce has been strengthening its grower-supplier relationships in Mexico and plans to keep its momentum going through the summer months.
“Although the summer is typically lighter in volume as the crop transitions, we plan to remain consistent with our grower base and focus on maximizing the use of our two packhouses in Michoacán,” Barnard said. “Maintaining our consistent presence in Mexico has already been paying off, and I anticipate this summer to be one of our strongest Mexican seasons yet.”
