Record avocado volumes are expected in New Zealand this season, while Apata CEO Steven Low says the fruit can no longer be considered a secondary crop to kiwifruit by post-harvest companies, newspaper Bay of Plenty Times reported.

“We've recognised the importance of the industry to our business and invested significantly in new plant and staff to ensure we can handle the growing volumes of fruit,” he was quoted as saying.

He told the newspaper Apata does not export avocadoes but is involved with them through Primor Produce, which exports around 31% of the country’s crop.

Primor director John Carroll said Australia was the major export market for NZ avocadoes with Coles Supermarkets as the key customer, the story reported.

He told the newspaper that as volumes increased the industry would have to look at other markets, with around 11% already going elsewhere, to countries such as Japan, Singapore and Korea.

Source: www.freshfruitportal.com