The EU avocado market is seeing dependable volumes and good demand this summer which should continue throughout the season according to industry members.

Annabel Konst, Purchaser at Nature's Pride told FreshFruitPortal that as of now there are several types of avocados on the market, though the Hass variety is the most important in Europe.

Imports are currently coming from Peru, Colombia, South Africa and Kenya as well as Mexico. This year the EU is seeing stable volumes per week from all origins, with supply flattened out more compared to last year, Konst said.

"The only hiccups we see are vessel delays which can make one week bigger than the next, but on average we see a flat line," Konst said, adding that the delays in vessels in Europe are actually helping to keep the market stocks on track.

"Peru is now over 60 percent of the season's loads and Colombia is slowly looking forward to the final weeks of the traviesa season," Konst said.

Peru has a tendency to ship bigger sizes from 10 to 18, where 10 to 16 is mainly for wholesale and food service.

Larger sizes such as 10's, 12's and 14's are struggling, but when the size split shifts to smaller sizes it will help with pricing, Konst said.

"The volume for the bigger sizes is higher than the program needs right now."

When the size split is able to move towards medium sizes, it will be more manageable for the market as there are more programs for those sizes.

"And even though we see more big sizes arriving in Europe, and therefore more in these sizes in the spot market, all fruits arriving are eaten," she said.

"Smaller sizes from Colombia should offset the bigger Peruvian sizes, creating a good balance in the market," Gert Aanen at Total Exotics said.

Europe planned a lot of promos so the market has been able to absorb the volumes well, Gert said.

"This along with the portion of the fruit that is exported from Peru to Chile instead of Europe keeps the market from being oversaturated."

All in all, the avocado volumes from sourcing countries will remain stable, and the size curve will slowly flatten, Konst said.

"This will help to maintain a healthy market level, both for the grower and for the customer."