A grocery item that plummets in price

But the days of “being penalized for ordering broken avo in a cafe one morning” could be long behind us, Tom Silver, Avocados Australia’s Tamborine/Northern Rivers regional director, told news.com.au.

We are now well aware of the current dazzling cost of fruits and vegetables thanks to a perfect storm of factors including devastating floods in Queensland and northern NSW, inflation, supply chain problems and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

For example, the much-maligned iceberg lettuce has experienced a price increase of 300 percent in recent months, causing many fast food restaurants to controversial sub in cabbage on their menu items due to chlorophyll deficiencies.

Last week, food and grocery wholesaler Metcash, which supplies thousands of stores across Australia, said: about 60 percent of its suppliers had requested price increases amid rising inflation.

“We continue to work closely with our suppliers and retailers to help shoppers manage the impact of inflation by providing lower-cost options by offering a wider range of products at competitive prices,” said group director Doug Jones.

He added that there was “uncertainty about the future level of inflation”, as well as how the impact of inflation and other… cost of living raises can affect customer behavior in Metcash’s retail networks.

Still, avocados seem to have withstood price pressure in the fresh produce aisle — with the humble green fruit available in abundance and at a good price.

When asked why the current challenges facing other Australian growers and produce have not affected avocados in the same way, Mr. Silver that while the fruit “doesn’t like large amounts of rain in the long run, in the short term we like small crops of lettuce and tomatoes all outside”.

†[They’re a] fairly hardy type of fruit, while anything leafy and outdoor and exposed — and just with the amount of rain coming through it, along the east coast, it has a huge effect on that,” he added.

While the fruit was once considered the one who bankrupted us allMr Silver – whose parents started an avocado farm 35 years ago in the northern hinterland of NSW and which he took over full-time in 2000 – said it’s unlikely we’ll see that happen again.

“There’s been a very big industry expansion in recent years, really because of how popular they are and how profitable it has been,” he explained.

“A huge amount of new plants have come in and it’s actually been a pretty good growing season for most of the growing regions in Australia.

“So avocados – there will always be dips and spikes in supply, but the old days of big shortages and avocados being in the news for the wrong reasons are probably over.”

Is it ironic that we used to be scolded for buying avocados and now they are one of our most accessible products? He thinks so.

“It’s great because the price has been a barrier to people buying more avocados in the past, and I thank the lettuce industry for taking the pressure off in the short term,” said Mr. Silver.

“But I really hope that over time we reach a nice balance where the farms are profitable again and the consumers really get their money’s worth and are not penalized for ordering smashed avocados in a cafe one morning.”

Mr Silver’s farm sells “most of our crops locally, mainly to local cafes and restaurants and a little to independent retailers” and is involved every step of the way – growing, packing and distributing.

Along with other Australian avocado growers, he wants customers looking for something nutritious, versatile and tasty to know that “avocados are plentiful, that they are really good value for money and that they are very good quality at the moment.” “.

“We want to encourage consumers where they may have just bought one ripe avocado for the night, we’re trying to say we should buy two or three,” he added.

†[Have] one for later in the week, and always have them on hand in the fruit bowl to try and help us [growers] out and get through this current situation.”