2021-Week 22

/

QUICKLINKS

AVOCADO OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

This week we see Central Qld take the lead in avocado production accounting for 53% of the total harvest of some 314,471 trays last week; followed by North Qld with 45%;  and the remaining 2% came from combined regions of South Qld and Sunshine Coast.  This production figure represents a 34% decrease on week prior and a 15% increase on what was forecast for this period. This is as a direct result of North Qld growers electing not to pick as a result of the volume that was and is already in the market and the impact that has had on price - as stated last week we had been hearing rumours that a number of agents had instructed growers to stop picking until some of the volume had cleared and this seems to have been actioned. As of today, there is still a significant volume of fruit in all markets and we expect current pricing to be maintained. We have seen trays advertised in Victoria this week at just $5.00/tray by independent retailers.     Coles and Aldi are both selling Hass at $1 per piece, Woolies were at $1.50ea for Australian Hass on Wednesday when we visited stores and by the end of the week, they too had joined the $1 a piece race - from a customer’s perspective this represents astounding value but it is yet to be seen if sales increase significantly. Avocado market sales for premium trays are in the range of $12 -$16/tray.  Pricing for class one fruit (main sales) is ranging $5 --$10 per tray; whilst the bulk market has been experiencing prices for premium in the range of $5 --$30/ctn depending upon grade, quality and count size. 

The national production of Hass this week was forecast to be in the vicinity of 355,000 - 360,000 trays and then is forecast to lift to 362K and then 370K per week in the following fortnight and yet there has been a further increase to 403K trays which follows the week of lighter harvest in the far North, so the situation is really no better with heavy supplies expected for the next few weeks. What is important during times of heavy supply is ensuring we haves sales for all premium lines which we have secured and perhaps even more important, making sure quality within the premium lines is of a high standard as there is plenty of choice and lots of offers on price being made to the chains.

Presentation in Qld stores this week was mixed in terms of quality; whilst there is a strong on the Hass variety as the main display, there was a continued presence of Greenskin’s Gmax avocado varietal in all three majors and in most instances the Gmax was at a higher ticket price than the Hass. What the specials on Hass this week have highlighted at store level is a presence of older fruit, some quite ripe and many with nodule damage, rots, some dehydration and sun bleaching as you will see in the images captured.

This week we saw more activity amongst the Prepack formulations on offer by all major supermarkets with an opportunity to move greater volumes in a single purchase. Aldi were offering their 6 piece nets on special at $4.99 ea; Coles had their 5 piece pack at $5.50 ea and 1kg I’m Perfect packs selling at $6.90ea; whilst Woolworths had the 5 pack on offer for $6.50 and the 1kg Odd Bunch ticketed at just $5.50/bag. There is a heavy supply of small fruit for these prepacks within the supply chain so these prices are expected to come back further as are the sell prices to the chains on these lines as you will see in the confirmed pricing below for this coming week.

It has definitely been a week of one where price has been the driving factor! In terms of Hass retail pricing in Qld shelf prices were as follows:  Aldi Qld had Greenskin Gmax Avos either $0.99 or $1.49 depending upon location and Hass at an advertised, catalogue featured piece price of $0.99ea;  Woolworths Qld had prominently positioned instore displays of Hass and Greenskin Gmax Avos ticketed at $1.50 ea for Hass and $2.00 ea on the Gmax; whilst Coles in Qld went out strong with radio advertising of the Hass promo at $1 per piece meanwhile selling the Greenskin Gmax Avos at $2.00 each.

Avocados Australia are continuing their marketing campaign with the airing of “Our Green Gold” television commercials through until the end of June which are being supported by social media, digital advertising and public relations activity. Keep a look out for anything Green and Gold that avocados could declare governance over or at least be associated with! We need as an industry to be actively promoting consumption and ideas for use in whatever way we can.

SUPERMARKET & MARKET PRICING FOR NEXT WEEK  

RETAIL SNAPSHOTS OF AVOCADOS

Below: Coles Indooroopilly, Garden City and Kenmore Displays

  • Coles stores had Greenskins Gmax Avos priced at $2 ea and Hass avocados priced at just $1.00ea. There was some poor quality fruit on show in a couple of the stores visited this week which appeared to be a result of age.

  • Stores had 5 piece packs at $5.50

Below: Aldi Indooroopilly, Garden City and Kenmore Displays

  • Stores stocked NQ Greenskins GMax Avos @ $0.99 - $1.49ea, Hass @ $0.99 and 6 piece Shepard at $4.99. With Hass at $0.99 ea these were on promo in the Aldi weekly catalogue and featured in two locations within the stores.

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

Below: Woolworths Indooroopilly, Garden City and Kenmore Displays

  • Most stores had Greenskins Gmax Green skin avos @$2 ea and Hass avocados at %1.50-$2.00ea on Wednesday - a presence of nodule damage on most lines of hass to varying degrees. By Thursday Woolworths had also pulled back their ticket price.

  • 5 piece packs at $6.50/ pack

BANANA OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

The weather in the past week has seen more rain fall across all North Qld growing regions from last Monday to this Thursday - the heaviest falls across this day range include 75mm around Tully; 64mm Innisfail; 43 mm Mareeba and between 2-5mm/day at Walkamin. The temperature range has also continued to cool with morning temperatures ranging 12.5 to 19.1C and daytime temperature ranges of 22.0 to 25.9C. With the cooling of the seasonal weather this slows the growth rate and pushes the average bunch age out as fruit takes a little longer to form and reach maturity. When field temperatures drop below 10C is when we normally start seeing underpeel discolouration which results in fruit appearing somewhat dull - this is as a result of temporary sap flow cessation in the colder growing conditions.

The national cut for last week was just shy of 400K cartons so supply is relatively steady. It is expected to be similar next week within a range of 390-420K cartons. Our harvesting team continue to be proactively cutting fruit that is slightly thinner in girth in order to prevent too much bronzing damage - we are currently seeing in the vicinity of 10-15% with heavier marking being graded out. With the cooling of overnight and morning temperatures and slightly shorter days we will see production slow somewhat in the coming weeks - we are now harvesting fruit with 16-17 weeks bunch age. We know when we are packing out more large fruit (200-220mm) that winter is upon us - we are packing somewhere close to 10% of our crop as large currently.  Our packing crew in the shed have been vigilant in continuing to grade out excessive bat scratching and visible bronzing defects to ensure fruit is within spec on arrival to our customers.

Quality on shelf this week was again varied - some lines presented very well with minimal marking with good colour and bloom; whilst others were dull, with evidence of bronzing, sap staining, rub marking, neck damage and of course still a little bat/bird marking as you see in the photos below.

Retail ticket pricing in Queensland is indicative of the shorter supply with cavendish retail tickets still all above $4/kg. The offer varied between the major supermarkets with Aldi offering fruit at $4.49/kg; Woolworths at $4.50/kg and Coles offering fruit at $4.50 to $4.90/kg dependent upon the store locality.















RETAIL SNAPSHOT OF BANANAS

Below: Coles Indooroopilly, Garden City and Kenmore Displays

  • Cavendish was priced at $4.50-$4.90/kg depending upon location, with Kids 750g packs also at $4.90/kg.

  • Lady Fingers were $7.90/kg across stores.

  • In stores visited this week colour development was better, still a presence of with scarring, bat marking, rub marking and sap staining evident. The odd cluster found with dull bloom.

Below: Aldi Indooroopilly, Garden City and Kenmore Displays

  • Stores had Cavendish @ $4.49/kg apart from the Garden City store which had them priced at $4.29, again slight skin marking, rub and sap staining

  • Lady Finger bananas were priced @ $6.99/kg

Below: Woolworths Indooroopilly, Garden City and Kenmore Displays

  • Woolworths had Cavendish bananas priced at $4.50-4.90/kg depending upon store location. Lil Sana kids banded clusters at $4.50 but minimal stock of this line found. Displays were generally well presented with fruit that had a cleaner and in good condition - a litter minor neck damage and skin scarring observed. Howe Farming fruit was on display at the Kenmore store with a stack of cartons on the floor in front of the display which can impact customers reach when trying to select product.

  • Lady fingers were priced at $7.90/kg - a little bronzing evident on some clusters.