Avocados in South Africa are this season 40% cheaper than last year ago after harvested volumes rose by 157% over the same period.
This year, consumers are forking out R11 per kilogram, a 40% drop compared to last year with some retailers even selling at a lower price.
Johnny van der Merwe, the managing director for Agrimark Trends, an agricultural information company confirmed the drop on his weekly YouTube video show.
“We have seen high avocado volumes on the markets, which resulted in significant pressure on the price, despite demand staying on a relatively good level,” he said.
“The latest price decreased to R11.30 per kilograms, which is 40% lower than last year, the same time. This was mostly driven by the fact that volumes are currently 157% higher compared to a year ago.”
He said the price of class one avocados had also decreased, reaching almost R12, adding said the expectation was that prices would increase in the next few days.
Meanwhile, the Avocado Growers’ Association, commercial avocado plantings in South Africa increased to 15 439 hectares in recent years.
This translated with around 800 new plantings per year.
Avocado farming in South Africa is concentrated in Limpopo and Mpumalanga, but has recently expanded to KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern and Western Cape demand for the fruit.
South Africa’s latest avocado season has been marked by several challenges, including rising costs of farming inputs faced by the farmers.
A bumper avocado fruit in Israel and Spain, which also supply the lucrative European market also resulted in lower prices.
Europe and the UK main export markets for South Africa’s avocados.
