2021-Week 14

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QUICKLINKS

AVOCADO OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

North Qld maintains the lead in production with their Shepard season accounting for 69% of the total production of some 316,000 trays last week; followed by Central Qld with 30%; with the remaining 1% coming from Central NSW. Pricing appears to have reached a period of temporary stabilisation within the market place. Australian Shepard main sales for premium are in the range of $20 -$30/tray. Pricing for class one fruit (main sales) is ranging $14 --$20 per tray; whilst the bulk market has been experiencing prices for premium in the range of $40 --$45/ctn and for class one and 2nd bulks $10 --$30/ctn.

North Qld Shepard avocados are forecast to be lighter next week around 210,000 to 220,000 trays expected from the region. The forecast for the next two week period shows the tray volume starting to decline slightly with harvests within the range of 180,000 to 220,000 per week. Some NQ farms have reportedly completed their Shepard season and are looking to commence picking their Hass from next week. The supermarkets are not looking to changeover to Hass until the first week of May, they may gradually roll a few traditional Hass into a nominated state in the last week of April. Coles have been stocking the Maluma Hass but it has been marketed as the Autumn Hass, over the last few weeks at the same price as the Shepards. Please make sure you have your Hass dry matter tested and ensure you test a sample of all sizes (including down to a count 30-36 equivalent) to ensure both the larger fruit and small fruit (used in prepack formulations) are good to go - please forward these test results to me prior to the arrival of your first consignment so that these can be shared with the chains. It was very disappointing at the start of the Shepard season, when Avocados Australia conducted some random testing of fruit on shelves for fruit maturity, to find only 7 out of 10 being mature - that means 30% were not and more importantly 30% of Australian customers who may have had a poor eating experience and therefore would not repeat purchase. Fruit maturity really is key.

In terms of Shepard retail pricing in Qld last week saw shelf prices as follows: Aldi Qld price was the most competitive at $1.79 per single piece; Woolworths Qld had prominently positioned instore displays of Shepards ticketed between $1.90 ea to $2.20 ea depending upon store location; whilst Coles in Qld had Shepards $1.90 each or 3 for $5.00. Coles ran a late week special, running Friday to Monday with 3 for $5.00 in Qld and NSW stores to stimulate demand. Prepack formulations offer a great opportunity for both the retailer and the customer alike - offering real value and an opportunity to move greater volumes in a single purchase. Coles have their 1kg I’m Perfect packs on special at $6.50 each and the Woolies at Mt Ommaney had their 1kg Odd Bunch pack on special at just $4.00/pack.

SUPERMARKET & MARKET PRICING FOR NEXT WEEK  

RETAIL SNAPSHOTS OF AVOCADOS

Above: Coles Sunnybank Hills, Garden City and Mt Ommaney Displays

  • Coles stores had Shepard avocado variety priced at $1.90 or multibuy 3 for $5.00

  • Stores had 5 piece packs at $8.00 and the 1kg I’m Perfect net were selling at $6.50/unit.

Above: Aldi Sunnybank Hills, Garden City and Mt Ommaney Displays

  • Stores stocked NQ Shepards @ $1.79ea and 6 piece Shepard at $7.99. Fruit supplied by Greenskins count 23/25

  • All fruit was well stocked and of good quality with minimal bruising/damage - odd piece found with bruise/body rot.

Above: Woolworths Sunnybank Hills, Garden City and Mt Ommaney Displays

  • All stores had Shepard avocados at $1.90ea- Count 28 at Sunnybank Hills and $2.20 at other stores - a degree of bruising and rots amongst bottom layers of stock.

  • 5 piece packs at $8.00/ pack and 1kg Odd Bunch on special for $4.00!

BANANA OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

The national banana cut last week was fairly stable just shy of 361,000 cartons harvested in the last week. National production is expected to be within the range of 360-370K cartons next week- it was actually 400K. The weather in the past week has been milder with minimum temperatures ranging 17.9-23.6C and maximum day temps of 26.4to 33.7C. In terms of rainfall, there has been a few showers along the coast, less in the hinterland.

Quality on shelf this week has improved slightly with definitely less visible bat marking (more sporadic) , on some lines there is a presence of sooty mould, rust thrip damage, minor neck injuries and general skin marking including point scarring and rub.

Retail ticket pricing in Queensland for cavendish last week varied between the major supermarkets with Aldi offering fruit at $3.29/kg; Woolworths at $3.30 to $3.90/kg and Coles offering fruit at $3.80/kg dependent upon the store locality. The independent at one outlet had cavendish at $2.99/kg.




RETAIL SNAPSHOT OF BANANAS

Above: Coles Sunnybank Hills, Garden City and Mt Ommaney Displays

  • Cavendish was priced at $3.80, with Kids 750g packs also at $3.80

  • Lady Fingers were $7.90/kg across stores.

  • Quite a lot of stock was slightly backward, less than previous weeks though, with scarring, rub marking and sap staining evident

Above: Aldi Sunnybank Hills, Garden City and Mt Ommaney Displays

  • All stores had Cavendish @ $3.29, again skin marking, rub and sap staining. Fruit sizing also varied significantly.

  • Lady Finger bananas were priced @ $5.99

Above: Woolworths Sunnybank Hills, Garden City and Mt Ommaney Displays

  • Woolworths had Cavendish bananas priced at $3.90/kg and Lil Sana kids banded clusters at the same price. Banana displays were brighter in terms of colour and bloom at these stores - there was a degree of skin marking, little bat/bird damage but overall a good presentation

  • Lady fingers were priced at $7.90/kg

  • Stores also stocked Red tip variety, ticketed at $5.00 and Organic variety at $4.90