Growing the avocado world – respect, people and the future

There are over one thousand varieties of avocado in the world and 100 percent of New Zealand’s export crop is the Hass variety, which also accounts for 60 percent of globally traded avocados.

A firm favourite on our breakfast, lunch and dinner plates, it is also one of the most commonly traded varieties with an ability to store better than others. It is also one of the only types to change colour when ripe.

“Kiwis love their avocados,” says Jen Scoular MInstD, CEO of NZ Avocado and director of World Avocado Congress NZ Ltd.

Also referred to as the superstar of fruits, this fleshy, green, buttery produce will be under the spotlight in April as part of the 10th World Avocado Congress, which is taking place in Auckland.

The three-day global event will host over one thousand delegates from 32 countries with New Zealand and Australia as the biggest contingents, followed by Mexico.

There are 14 countries involved in the global committee with two representatives from each of those countries. The event is held every four years, and Scoular says it has been incredibly challenging to plan.

“We won the bid to host this Congress at the previous event in Columbia, in 2019. At that time the avocado sector was very profitable, productivity was great and the future looked rosy. Covid struck six months later,” Scoular says.  

Jen Scoular MInstD, CEO of NZ Avocado and director of World Avocado Congress NZ Ltd.

There is no seed funding for the event and a majority of support comes through sponsors, partnerships and registrations, with minimal government support.

“The main governance focus for the newly created board – WAC NZ Ltd – is around strong finances and being clear on the risks. We made a policy that we would not commit to anything until we had the funding to support it,” Scoular says of the event.

WAC NZ Ltd is a subsidiary of NZ Avocado Industry Limited (NZAIL) and was set up with industry reps plus independent directors.

Scoular says governance on the WAC NZ board is strong.

“The KPIs are about leveraging the event for the New Zealand avocado sector. It’s also about upskilling, learning and enjoying new connections and engagements with the local sector.

“We want to make sure this is an impressive event, so that we can leverage it for the whole of New Zealand,” she says.

There will be 120 presentations across breeding, growing, harvesting, agri-tech in supply chain and on orchards, innovation and new markets. Keynote presentations will address global trends in fresh produce, climate change and sustainability. The latter will be a huge focus, according to Scoular.

The theme for the event is about being “respectful” and this encompasses having respect for people, respect for the environment and respect for the future.  

Scoular says the event is collaborative and a chance for growers and those in the sector to gain new insights.

“It’s a young horticulture crop, so we don’t know everything, nobody does. We want to share knowledge, connections, and understand how to grow the avocado world and do it collectively under one roof.”

Scoular says there has been an increase in supply over the past 15 years and that, in order to meet demand from overseas, sharing the load with other growers makes sense.

“New Zealand will never be supplying the whole of Japan or China, so the opportunity to increase that demand collectively is there. We want to see if we can increase productivity, or improve the way we describe the attributes of avocados to get into those markets,” Scoular says. 

While the market looks to be a healthy one, there are challenges – getting the product to market and ensuring the quality is maintained is a big one. On the plus side, New Zealand has a strong reputation as a producer of safe and healthy food, which is appealing for overseas markets.

There are 800 avocado orchards in New Zealand which, on average, are less than four hectares each in size. Kiwi growers export to 13 different countries with eight locations across the Asia-Pacific, including India. Australia is our biggest export market.

From a broader governance perspective, Scoular says the sector needs to ensure financial viability for growers.

“We have a huge diversity of growers, growing regions and micro-climates for our orchards. The sector needs to support growers, packers and exporters to be a viable export industry as well as providing great avocados for New Zealanders,” Scoular says. 

The 10th World Avocado Congress will be held at Aotea – Te Pokapū | Aotea Centre, Auckland, 2-5 April, 2023.