Unpredictable and adverse weather is taking a toll on Chilean avocado shipments thus lowering expectations for the amount shipped to the United States, the US Chilean Avocado Importers Association (CAIA) said in a statement.

According to the CAIA, 25 million pounds of the fruit have been shipped or are on route to the US. A total of 100-120 million pounds will be shipped to the US during the length of the season, the CAIA said. Figures for the original forecasts were not provided.

Weather is blamed for a 30% drop in the 2010-11 harvest, which is also a low season due to the “alternating fruit bearing of the fruit trees,” the fact that the yield of the harvest is high one year and then drops the next in a cyclical nature.

“Unfortunately, we can never anticipate Mother Nature and have had a lack of rain and a cold late spring,” said Jorge Covarrubias, CAIA Chairman.  “We wish we had more fruit.”

Other crop research has also found a lower number of shipments from Chile due to an attractive price in domestic fruit markets, thus pushing more growers to sell their product locally, according to fruit consultancy iQonsulting.

Source: www.freshfruitportal.com