Freska Produce International has announced an expansion of its avocado business with the purchase of California-based packer Harvest Time Produce. 

Leading mango importer Freska says it will now have a 'true' year-round avocado program with supply from both Mexico and California.

This new commodity will substantially increase Freska’s overall avocado activity.

Speaking to www.freshfruitportal.com, Freska managing member and partner Gary Clevenger said the deal was aimed at providing more choice to customers.

"We currently have a Mexican avocado program, this will be California avocados and it will fill a need in the western United States for California avocados, to give our customers a choice," he said, adding a lot of U.S. consumers switch over from Mexican to California supply.

"California usually gets a little bit of a premium over the other fruit as well."

Clevenger said while Harvest Time was one of the smaller California shippers, it still had 'pretty significant volumes'.

"It's our plan to grow that and to expand their volumes and capabilities within their plant, and possibly in the future expanding into the northern part of California," he said.

Although Clevenger was not able to reveal details of the transaction, he said Freska was now a majority shareholder in Harvest Time.

Harvest Time was formed in 1985 packing mostly Hass avocados along with other commodities like citrus.

Since then, Harvest Time has been one of the original 13 handlers of California Hass Avocados, and one of the original avocado packing houses in the state.

As demand continued to expand in 2002 with imported avocados from Mexico and Chile, Harvest Time continued to meet the demand for California avocados by installing a larger packing line, and bagging equipment in 2010.

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