Miami-based grower to highlight tropical avocados at CPMA show

The 2023 Canadian Produce Marketing Association Convention and Trade Show will give fresh fruits and vegetables the star treatment — and you can expect the avocado to have a share of the spotlight.

Canada's avocado market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of roughly 5%, rising from $99.6 million in 2020 to $140.3 million by 2027. That’s according to Miami-based grower-packer-shipper WP Produce, citing a September 2022 report from Knowledge Sourcing Intelligence.

While some may associate the versatile superfruit with its popular hass variety commonly grown in California and Mexico, WP Produce sees the CPMA show as a chance to highlight tropical avocados — a typically larger fruit that it says is slower to oxidize. Tropical avocados also have a smoother skin that remains green even when ripe.

WP Produce supplies Desbry-brand tropical avocados from Florida and the Dominican Republic year-round to U.S. and Canadian markets. The company is preparing for a bountiful U.S.-grown avocado season running from May through October, according to a news release. 

During the 2023 CPMA Convention and Trade Show, set for April 25-27 in Toronto, WP Produce will feature its exclusive Desbry tropical avocado along with tropical fruit such as mango, guava, manzano and burro bananas, and other exotic fruits from Florida including dragon fruit and star fruit.

“With our Desbry fruits and roots grown in tropical climates, we can source a wide variety of commodities year-round to help meet customer demand within the Canadian market for familiar tropical fruits as well as other fruits that are exotic to Canadian cuisine,” Desiree Pardo Morales, vice president of WP Produce and founder of its direct-to-consumer sister company Tropical Fruit Box, said in the release.

WP Produce will be at CPMA booth No. 1429 in the Southern United States Trade Association pavilion.