Smashing success for avocados
The avocado season ends in February and the region’s growers have indicated this season fared well compared to previous years.
Growers put the success down to the mild weather conditions which allowed a higher volume of produce to grow.
Glenoran grower Travis Luzny said the only problem he faced this year was the six-spotted mite, which meant some farmers had to harvest their crops earlier than expected.
“West Pemberton is usually affected by the mite but this year it spread across more of the region,” he said.
“It defoliated the tress, which meant farmers had to harvest early to stop the avocados getting sunburnt.”
Mr Luzny said apart from this, the season had been a good one and the fruit produced was a better quality and bigger than last year’s crop.
He also said many growers had received the support of major supermarket chains.
“Aldi was the strongest buyer of West Australian avocados this year,” he said.
“Some of the other supermarkets have been importing New Zealand avocados instead, particularly in New South Wales and Queensland, and this fruit is a lower quality because it takes longer to arrive on supermarket shelves.”
Mr Luzny said New Zealand fruit could take up to 30 days whereas fruit from WA would only take a maximum of 13 days.
“My hope for the next season is to see more supermarkets across Australia supporting local produce,” he said.
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