Organic avocado supplies from Mexico increase

There’s good news for fans of organic avocados — and those who market them.

Supplies out of Mexico should be plentiful this season, and prices should be reasonable.

“Organic fresh produce has experienced double-digit growth this year,” said Nicole Vitello, president of Oke USA/Equal Exchange Produce, West Bridgewater, Mass.

“As organic options become more available at stable prices, and education continues about the positive health effects of eating fresh and organic produce, consumers are gravitating toward organic as an everyday choice,” she said.

And as people are cooking and eating at home more during the pandemic, they are more aware of the ingredients they are purchasing and eating, and that awareness is a benefit to organic produce, she added.

All of the Mexican avocados from Equal Exchange are organically grown, she said.

There will be more organic avocados coming out of Mexico this year than last year, said Rob Wedin, executive vice president of fresh sales for Calavo Growers Inc., Santa Paula, Calif.

“Organic prices are way down and much more promotable,” he said.

Wedin said he sees organic avocado promotions weekly.

“It’s really surprising to me how many organic avocado promotions there are,” he said. “Mexico is doing a good job of supplying organic demand.”

About 10% of the Mexican avocados Calavo brings to the U.S. are organically grown, he said.

Donny Lucy, vice president of procurement and East Coast sales for Del Rey Avocado Co. Inc., Fallbrook, Calif., said sales of organic avocados are “very steady,” but the radical growth of past years has dissipated.

“Retailers and customers who take organic are steady and are going to continue to take organic,” he said, but he does not expect a lot of new retailers to ramp up organic programs.

“That transition has already happened,” he said.

Sales of organic avocados actually have been less affected by COVID-19 pandemic than sales of conventional fruit, said Giovanni Cavaletto, vice president of sourcing for Index Fresh Inc., Riverside, Calif. 

The company ships a lot of organic avocados and expects to see significant increases in the growth of the commodity over next couple of years.

“We’re pretty enthusiastic about that growth,” Cavaletto said.

Unlike some shippers who said they’ve seen the gap narrow between the price of organic and conventional avocados, Giovanni said the premium has increased from 10%-15% over conventional to 30%-40%.

“The organic bubble has been a little bit protected,” he said.

“Organic demand continues to go up,” agreed Phil Henry, president of Henry Avocado Corp., Escondido, Calif.

“We’re continuing to expand in organic with more organic groves,” he said.

Most organic avocados are sold to retailers, Henry said, and since sales at retail are up, organic sales are up as well.

“That looks very promising for growers for the future,” he said.

But there are higher costs involved with growing organically, Henry said.

“You have to maintain production in order to achieve better financial returns,” he said. “You can’t get a higher price and have lower production.”

Prices on organic avocados should remain fairly low for the next five months or so, Wedin said.

“You have organic prices currently that are in the ballpark of what conventional were sometimes during the last couple of years,” he said.

At times, the f.o.b. price for a carton of organic avocados has risen to $90, Lucy said. But that’s not the case now.

He’s noticing “steady and promotable price levels and volume,” which he said is good for the organic category.

Merchandising, displays and placement, all of which have improved over time, have a lot to do with organic sales at retail, Vitello said.

And because of the thick peel, consumers may feel organic avocados are not as important to their health compared to a more thin-skinned item like, say, a tomato, she said.

“That is an opportunity for education about how avocados are grown and the health benefits not only for consumers but for growers and agricultural workers,” Vitello said. 

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