2021-Week 13

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QUICKLINKS

AVOCADO OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

North Qld maintains the lead in production with their Shepard season accounting for 85% of the total production of some 266,000 last week; followed by Central Qld with 15%. Pricing is still trending downwards within the market place. Australian Shepard main sales for premium are in the range of $20 -$30/tray, with $30 being absolute top. 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 avocado production for next week is forecast to be within a range of 220,000 to 230,000 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 162,000 to 213,000 per week. Presentation in stores this week was again generally good with fruit having good shape and glossy skins.

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. All major supermarkets now have their 5 or 6 piece prepacks as well as their value 1kg nets filled with Shepards.

In terms of Shepard retail pricing in Qld shelf prices were as follows: Aldi Qld had a red hot ticket price of $1.49 per piece; Woolworths Qld had prominently positioned instore displays of Shepards ticketed at $1.90 ea whilst Coles in Qld had Shepards $1.90 each or their multibuy offer of 3 for $5.00 was extended through to Easter. It was also noted that the Maluma Hass, branded as Autumn Avocado’s marketed by Mackays, were on a number of Coles shelves also retailing at the same price as the Shepards ie $1.90 ea - fruit observed this week was very firm and a few pieces had sun blemish.

SUPERMARKET & MARKET PRICING FOR NEXT WEEK  

RETAIL SNAPSHOTS OF AVOCADOS

Above: Coles Browns Plains Display

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

  • Stores had 5 piece packs at $8.90 and the 1kg I’m Perfect net were selling at $6.90/unit.

Above: Aldi Browns Plains Display

  • Stores stocked NQ Shepards @ $1.49ea and 6 piece Shepard at $7.99. Fruit supplied by Greenskins packed 18th March = 13 days old, count 23/25

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

Above: Woolworths Browns Plains Display

  • All stores had Shepard avocados at $1.90ea- Count 28 supplied by grower Cadorin Orchards - odd piece with bruising.

  • 5 piece packs at $8.00/ pack - 3 different suppliers of this line on shelf, and 1kg Odd Bunch on special for $7.50

BANANA OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

The national banana cut last week was fairly stable with just under 363,000 cartons harvested - a slight increase on the previous week of 2,000 cartons. National production is expected to be within the range of 360-370K cartons next week. The weather in the past week has been milder with minimum temperatures ranging 18.3 - 24C and maximum day temps of 27.2 to 33.4C. Minimal rain in the last week though more is forecast late in the week particularly for the Innisfail and Tully regions.

Quality on shelf this week has improved somewhat on previous trading weeks with less dull, grey/bronzed fruit and skin marking was also less than previous weeks. The Woolworths offering in this centre was best on show this week.

Retail ticket pricing in Queensland for cavendish varied between the major supermarkets with Aldi offering fruit at $3.29/kg; Woolworths at $3.30/kg and Coles offering fruit at $3.50/kg in the centre visited - only one store visited due to Brisbane being in Covid lockdown.










RETAIL SNAPSHOT OF BANANAS

Above: Coles Browns Plains Display

  • Cavendish was priced at $3.50, with Kids 750g packs also at $3.50

  • No Lady Fingers in stock at this store today.

  • Quite a lot of stock was slightly backward, with scarring, rub marking, sap staining

Above: Aldi Browns Plains Display

  • 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 Browns Plains Display

  • Woolworths had Cavendish bananas priced at $3.30/kg and Lil Sana kids banded clusters at the same price. Banana displays were brighter in terms of colour and bloom at this store - there was a presence of minor skin marking, little bat/bird damage but overall very good presentation

  • Lady fingers were priced at $7.90/kg

  • Stores also stocked Red tip variety, ticketed at $4.50 and Organic variety at $4.90

2021-Week 12

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QUICKLINKS

AVOCADO OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

North Qld maintains the lead in production with their Shepard season accounting for 82% of the total production of some 278,000 last week; followed by Central Qld with 17%; with the remaining 1% coming from Central NSW. Pricing has continued its downward trend as volumes increase in the market place. Australian Shepard main sales for premium are in the range of $20 -$30/tray, odd $32/tray around. Pricing for class one fruit (main sales) is ranging $16 --$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 with Easter late in the week with around 230,000 to 240,000 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 210,000 to 220,00 per week. Presentation in stores this week was again generally good with fruit having good shape and glossy skins.

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. All major supermarkets now have their 5 or 6 piece prepacks as well as their value 1kg nets filled with shepards.

In terms of Shepard retail pricing in Qld shelf prices were as follows: Aldi Qld price was a competitive $1.99 per piece; Woolworths Qld had prominently positioned instore displays of Shepards ticketed at $2.20 ea whilst Coles in Qld had Shepards $2.00 each. Coles ran a late week special, running Friday to Monday with 3 for $5.00 in Qld and NSW stores to stimulate demand.

The humble Shepard has been copping some slack in the media this week, first there was an article in “Delicious” magazine that reported a few incorrect facts about the Shepard and then Brisbane radio station B105’s breakfast crew painted an unflattering picture of the qualities and flavour of the Shepard. Not happy with this, Rock Ridge sprang into action alerting Avocados Australia so that as an industry these two media outlets could be approached and the facts put straight and we also delivered a tray of beautiful Shepards to the radio station which gained an on-air apology from the team and a declaration about how good the Shepard avocado is!

SUPERMARKET & MARKET PRICING FOR NEXT WEEK  

RETAIL SNAPSHOTS OF AVOCADOS

Above: Coles Mt Ommaney, Indooroopilly and Fairfield Displays

  • Coles stores had Shepard avocado variety priced at $2.00ea

  • All stores had 5 piece packs at $7.90 and the stores who were stocking the 1kg I’m Perfect net were selling at $6.90/unit.

Above: Aldi Mt Ommaney, Indooroopilly and Fairfield Displays

  • Stores stocked both NQ Shepards @ $1.99ea, Lil Snackers packs at $2.99 and 6 piece Shepard at $7.99. Fruit supplied by Freshmax/DBM with Ferraro Farming fruit packed 10th March = 14 days old, count 23/25 and a little Howe Farming fruit.

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

Above: Woolworths Mt Ommaney, Indooroopilly and Moorooka Displays

  • All stores had Shepard avocados at $2.20ea - Count 20 supplied by Greenskins packed 11th March (13 days old); Mackays (Leadwood packed 12th March = 12 days old and Howe Farming packed 8th and 9th March = 15-16 days old) - a degree of bruising and rots amongst bottom layers of stock.

  • 5 piece packs at $7 to $8.00/ pack and 1kg Odd Bunch for $8.00

  • 3 Piece Large Hass packs at $8.00ea

  • Organic packs (mini 550g pack) at $12.90ea

Woolworths new shepard avocado header cards provide valuable info to customers

Woolworths new shepard avocado header cards provide valuable info to customers

BANANA OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

The national banana cut last week was fairly stable with just under 361,000 cartons harvested. National production is expected to be within the range of 360-370K cartons next week. The weather in the past week has been milder with minimum temperatures ranging 18.0 - 24.3C and maximum day temps of 28.9 to 34.1C. Minimal rain in the last week though more is forecast late in the week particularly for the Innisfail and Tully regions.

Quality on shelf this week was again quite disappointing with dull, grey/bronzed fruit with various skin markings being a common finding particularly in Coles and Aldi stores - this is most likely as a result of recent weather conditions. Pleased to say however that there is less visible bat/bird marked fruit being seen on retail shelves.

Retail ticket pricing in Queensland for cavendish 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 $3.50 to $3.90/kg dependent upon the store locality. As already stated, quality varied greatly with a number of lines having visible skin marking including neck damage, sap staining, rust thrip damage and rub marking.










RETAIL SNAPSHOT OF BANANAS

Above: Coles Mt Ommaney, Indooroopilly and Fairfield Displays

  • Cavendish was priced at $3.90 at Indooroopilly and $3.50 at Mt Ommaney and Fairfield, with Kids 750g packs at the same prices respectively.

  • Lady Fingers were $7.90/kg across all stores.

  • Quite a lot of stock was dull, greying, with neck injuries, scarring, rub marking, sap staining and what appeared to be sooty mould was evident on both cavendish and lady fingers.

Above: Aldi Mt Ommaney, Indooroopilly and Fairfield Displays

  • All stores had Cavendish @ $3.29, again skin marking, rub, sap staining as well as quite a lot of backward fruit. Fruit sizing also varied significantly.

  • Lady Finger bananas were priced @ $5.99 and Kids 750g packs at $2.99

Above: Woolworths Mt Ommaney, Indooroopilly and Moorooka Displays

  • Woolworths had Cavendish bananas priced at $3.30/kg at both Mt Ommaney and Indooroopilly stores, however they were $3.90/kg at Moorooka and Lil Sana kids banded clusters at the same price respectively. 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 better presentation.

  • Lady fingers were priced at $7.90/kg at Mt Ommaney and Moorooka and $7.50/kg at Indooroopilly.

  • Stores also stocked Red tip variety, ticketed at $4.50 and Organic variety at $4.90

2021-Week 11

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QUICKLINKS

AVOCADO OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

North Qld maintains the lead in production with their Shepard season accounting for 79% of total production last week; followed by Central Qld with 17%; with the remaining 4% coming from Central NSW and New Zealand. Pricing has continued its downward trend as volumes increase in the market place. Australian Shepard main sales for premium are in the range of $26 -$33/tray, odd $34 around. Pricing for class one fruit (main sales) is ranging $18 --$22 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 expected to again increase in numbers this coming week with a forecast of 270,000 trays from the region. The forecast for the next two week period shows the tray volume starting to decline slightly with 250,000 expected next week and then 200,000 the week after. Presentation in stores this week was again generally good with fruit having good shape and glossy skins. A number of farms, including our own, have had issues with spotting bug - it is essential we grade out any affected pieces as they are deemed by all the major chains as unacceptable.

The availability of suitably sized Australian Shepards for formulation of prepacks is seeing both the 5 pack options and 1kg bags starting to be stocked on supermarket shelves. All major supermarkets now have their 5 or 6 piece prepack offers filled with shepards. Both Coles and Woolworths have 1kg options on offer with respective Ïm Perfect or Odd Bunch also filled with shepard avocados.

In terms of Shepard retail pricing in Qld shelf prices were as follows: Aldi Qld price was a competitive $1.79 per piece; Woolworths Qld had prominently positioned instore displays of Shepards ticketed at $2.00 ea whilst Coles in Qld had Shepards with a ticket of 2 for $4.00 or $2.20 singularly. The majority of fruit was of sound quality, odd findings of skin marking and a low level of lenticel damage.

SUPERMARKET & MARKET PRICING FOR NEXT WEEK  

RETAIL SNAPSHOTS OF AVOCADOS

Above: Coles Springwood, Ipswich and Browns Plains Displays

  • Coles stores had Shepard avocado variety priced at $2.20ea or multibuy offer 2 for $4.00

  • All stores had 1kg Odd Bunch packs for $7.50

  • Coles Springwood had 5 piece packs at $8.90

Above: Aldi Springwood, Ipswich and Browns Plains Displays

  • Stores stocked both NQ Shepards @ $1.79ea and 6 piece Shepard at $7.99

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

Above: Woolworths Springwood, Ipswich and Browns Plains Displays

  • All stores had Shepard avocados at $2.00ea

  • 5 piece packs at $7.00-8.00

  • 1kg Odd Bunch packs at $8.00

BANANA OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

The national banana cut last week was still in recovery mode post the tropical low, known as Cyclone Niran, with a increase of 5.2% on the previous week which equated to an additional 18,149 cartons, meaning the total was just nudging over 364,000. National production is expected to be within the range of 380-400K cartons next week. The weather in the past week has been milder with minimum temperatures ranging 18.5 - 22.7C and maximum day temps of 29.8 to 31.4C. There was definitely less rain in the far north with just a few light showers mainly in the Innisfail and Tully regions, though Walkamin did have a storm early in the week.

Quality on shelf this week was again disappointing with grey to bronzed dull, marked fruit being a common finding - this is most likely as a result of recent weather conditions. On our own farms, we continue to grade heavily for bat scratching with this issue expected for another three to four weeks. Waste relating to grade outs of bat marked fruit continues to be in the vicinity of 30-35% of each days pack out - we will continue to be vigilant in this respect to ensure inclusion in our carton is kept to an acceptable level.

Retail ticket pricing in Queensland for cavendish 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 $3.50 to $3.90/kg dependent upon the store locality. As already stated, quality varied greatly with a number of lines having visible skin marking including bat scratching, sap staining, rust thrip damage, neck injuries and rub marking.








RETAIL SNAPSHOT OF BANANAS

Above: Coles Springwood, Ipswich and Browns Plains Displays

  • Cavendish was priced at $3.50 at the Ipswich store, and $3.90 at Springwood and Browns Plains, with Kids 750g packs at the same prices respectively

  • Lady Fingers were $7.90 across the board

  • Quite a lot of stock was backwards and some serious sap staining and bat marking was evident on both cavendish and lady fingers.

Above: Aldi Springwood, Ipswich and Browns Plains Displays

  • All stores had Cavendish @ $3.29, some with skin markings and sap staining as well as quite a lot of backward fruit

  • Lady Finger bananas were priced @ $5.99

Above: Woolworths Springwood, Ipswich and Browns Plains Displays

  • Woolworths had Cavendish bananas priced at $3.30 and kids packs also at $3.30

  • Lady fingers were priced at $7.90 and the Browns Plains store also stocked Red tip variety, ticketed at $4.50

2021-Week 10

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QUICKLINKS

AVOCADO OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

North Qld maintains the lead in production with their Shepard season accounting for 67% of total production last week; followed by New Zealand with 18%; Central Qld at 14% and the remaining 1% coming from Central NSW. Pricing has continued its downward trend as volumes increases in the market place. There were another couple of arrivals of NZ Hass last week with premium trays still selling in the range of $30 --$40/tray dependent upon size. This week saw Australian Shepard main sales for premium in the range of $28 -$34/tray. Pricing for class one fruit (main sales) was ranging $20 --$26 per tray; whilst the bulk market has been experiencing prices for premium in the range of $40 --$45/ctn and for class one and 2nds $10 --$30/ctn. All pricing was trending downward by the end of the week.

North Qld Shepard avocados are expected to again increase in numbers this coming week with a forecast of 240,000 trays from the region. In fact the forecast for the next four week period has the tray volume sitting between 240 - 250,000 per week. Presentation in stores this week was again generally good with fruit having good shape and glossy skins. A number of farms, including our own, have had issues with spotting bug, despite implementing preventative spraying programmes as well as control spraying as populations have been detected. We have reset our grading cameras and trained staff in detection, in an effort to remove as many affected pieces as possible.

The availability of suitably sized Australian Shepards for formulation of prepacks is seeing both the 5 pack options and 1kg bags growing in number on supermarket shelves. Aldi this week still had NZ fruit filling their order for their 6 piece bags in most stores.

In terms of Shepard retail pricing in Qld shelf prices were as follows: Aldi Qld price was a competitive $1.99 per piece; Woolworths Qld had prominently positioned instore displays of Shepards ticketed at $2.00 ea whilst Coles in Qld had now swapped over to Shepards with a ticket of 2 for $4.00 or $2.20 singularly. The majority of fruit was of sound quality, odd findings of skin marking and a low level of lenticel damage. Late week specials in Coles Vic and SA have shepards selling 2 for $3.50.

SUPERMARKET & MARKET PRICING FOR NEXT WEEK  

RETAIL SNAPSHOTS OF AVOCADOS

Above: Coles Sunnybank Hills, Cannon Hill and Garden City Mt Gravatt Displays

  • Coles stores had Shepard avocado variety priced at $2.20ea or multibuy offer 2 for $4.00

  • All stores had 1kg Odd Bunch packs for $7.50

  • Coles Cannon Hill had 5 piece packs at $8.90

Above: Aldi Sunnybank Hills, Cannon Hill and Garden City Mt Gravatt Displays

  • Stores stocked both NQ Shepards @ $1.99ea, 6 piece Shepard at $7.99 and 6 piece Hass at $8.99

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

Above: Woolworths Sunnybank Hills, Cannon Hill and Garden City Mt Gravatt Displays

  • All stores had Shepard avocados at $2.00ea

  • 5 piece packs at $8.00

  • 1kg Odd Bunch packs at $8.50

BANANA OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

The national banana cut last week was significantly impacted by the blow through of the tropical low, known as Cyclone Niran, with a decrease of 24.4% which equated to -112,207 cartons less than the previous week. National production was expected to be within the range of 450-470K cartons however with the devastating wind storm causing an average industry loss of 20-25% this was definitely not achievable. It is important to note that the impact of this tropical low varied greatly at an individual level; with some smaller to medium sized farms suffering a much greater percentage loss. In the days immediately following the weather event, affected growers spent a great deal of time salvaging fruit from bent bunches, mulching, tidying and repairing their farms. The weather in the past week has been milder with minimum temperatures ranging 19.4 - 26.0C and maximum day temps of 29.4 to 32.4C. The rain has continued to fall intermittently in North Qld with recordings of 10 -15 mm in Mareeba, Innisfail and Tully across the week; and a further 41mm fell in Walkamin since last Wednesday.

Quality on shelf this week was very disappointing with grey to bronzed dull, marked fruit being a common finding. The presence of dull fruit perhaps relates to fruit age and storage conditions. On our own farms, we continue to grade heavily for bat scratching with this issue expected for another four to five weeks. Waste relating to grade outs of bat marked fruit continues to be in the vicinity of 30-35% of each days pack out - we will continue to be vigilant in this respect to ensure inclusion in our carton is kept to an acceptable level.

Retail ticket pricing in Queensland for cavendish varied between the major supermarkets and for a change Aldi did not have the cheapest ticket price. This week saw Aldi selling at $3.29/kg; Woolworths at $3.00/kg and Coles offering fruit at $3.00 to $3.50/kg dependent upon the store locality. As already stated, quality also varied greatly with a number of lines having visible skin marking including bat scratching, sap staining, rust thrip damage, neck injuries and rub marking.






RETAIL SNAPSHOT OF BANANAS

Above: Coles Sunnybank Hills, Cannon Hill and Garden City Mt Gravatt Displays

  • With Sunnybank Hills with no Cavendish stocked, Cannon Hill at $3.50 and Garden City at $3.00, Coles was not consistent

  • However Lady Fingers were $7.90 across the board, as were the kids packs, all at $3.50

  • Some stock was backwards and some serious sap staining was evident

Above: Aldi Sunnybank Hills, Cannon Hill and Garden City Mt Gravatt Displays

  • All stores had Cavendish @ $3.29, some with skin markings and sap staining as well as quite a lot of backward fruit

  • Lady Finger bananas were priced @ $5.99

Above: Woolworths Sunnybank Hills, Cannon Hill and Garden City Mt Gravatt Displays

  • Woolworths had Cavendish bananas priced at $3.00 and kids packs also at $3.00

  • Sunnybank Hills and Garden city stores had Lady fingers at $7.50, whilst Cannon Hill priced them at $6.90

  • The Garden city store also stocked Red tip variety, ticketed at $3.90

2021-Week 9

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QUICKLINKS

AVOCADO OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

The North Qld Shepard season is finally here and Qld takes the lead accounting for 68% of total production last week; followed by New Zealand with 26%; Central Qld supplying 4% and the remaining 2% coming from Central NSW and WA. Pricing has come back in the market place with further shipments of Chilean fruit arriving with fruit still selling from $10.00-$20.00/tray. Premium quality NZ tray fruit still selling in the range of $36 --$40/tray dependent upon size - still moderate volumes of NZ fruit within the marketplace which is expected to continue for at least another couple of weeks. Australian Shepard main sales for premium in the range of $28 -$34/tray. Pricing for class one fruit (main sales) is ranging $20 --$26 per tray; whilst the bulk market has been experiencing prices for premium in the range of $40 --$45/ctn and for class one and 2nds $10 --$30/ctn.

New season North Qld Shepard avocados, have again increased slightly in volume climbing from of 145,000 trays to 176,000 last week with a predicted 220,000 for next week from the region. Presentation is generally good with fruit having good shape and glossy skins. A number of farms, including our own, have had issues with spotting bug, despite implementing preventative spraying programmes as well as control spraying as populations have been detected. We have reset our grading cameras and trained staff in detection, in an effort to remove as many affected pieces as we possibly can. Rain in the region has continued to impact harvesting for a number of farms this week with 40-50mm in most areas - it is North Qld after all! With increased rain during harvest periods there is an increased risk of development of rots, so the application of approved fungicide treatments in the wash is a must.

The availability of suitably sized Australian Shepards for formulation of prepacks is seeing both the 5 pack options and 1kg bags starting to be stocked on supermarket shelves. Aldi this week still had NZ fruit filling their order for their 6 piece bags.

In terms of Shepard retail pricing in Qld shelf prices were as follows: Aldi Qld price was a competitive $1.79 per piece; Woolworths Qld had prominently positioned instore displays of Shepards ticketed at $2.00-$2.20 ea whilst Coles in Qld were still displaying NZ Skylark Hass with pricing of $2.00ea - most observed fruit was of sound quality, odd findings of body rot and bruising and a low level of lenticel damage.

SUPERMARKET PRICING FOR THIS WEEK  

RETAIL SNAPSHOTS OF AVOCADOS

Above: Coles Gleneg SA, Carindale and Greenslopes Displays

  • Loose Shepards $2.00ea in SA and Greenslopes and $1.80 at Carindale, mix of ripe and firm fruit

  • Carindale had Hass for $2.00ea also

  • 1kg netted bags at $10.50 ea

  • $7.50 for 5 piece nets in QLD

Above: Aldi Carindale and Drewvale Displays

  • Stores stocked both NQ Shepards @ $1.799ea and 6 piece Hass at $7.99

  • All fruit was well stocked and of good quality and colour with minimal bruising/damage

Above: Woolworths Gleneg SA, Carindale and Parkinson

  • All stores had Shepard avocados at $2.20ea

  • 5 piece packs at $7.50

  • 1kg Odd Bunch packs at $9.50

  • Organic Hass 3 packs @ $9.00ea

BANANA OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

The national banana cut last week reduced slightly by -6,764 cartons to a total of 458,276 cartons which represents a decrease of 1.4% on the previous week. National production was expected next week to be within the range of 450-470K cartons however with the devastating wind storm associated with offshore tropical low (Cyclone Niran) this will result in much more fruit on the market than first forecast, as growers try to tidy their farms in the days following these storms. The weather in the past week has been nothing short of unbelievable and as a result farms suffered losses in the range of 5 to 100%, depending upon their location in relation to the funneling winds. The ground was already soft from decent rainfalls in the preceding weeks and with winds up to speeds of 90-120km/hr in the region many banana plants simply bent in half and some plants were rolled over. Growing regions including Cowley, Mourilyan and Innisfail were some of the worst hit, but the reach of these storms was quite astounding with our own farm at Mareeba also suffering a loss of approximately 20% of the plants under production. The rain continued to fall intermittently in North Qld last week with a further recordings of 40 -70 mm in both Mareeba and Walkamin since last Wednesday; whilst Innisfail had approx. 250mm for the week; and the Tully region had a little less with approx. 120mm for the week.

Whilst quality on shelf this week was a little better than last week, quality in general continues to be quite mixed on shelf with bat and bird damage, sap staining and minor skin marking detracting from some displays. There is also a presence of dull fruit perhaps relating to fruit age and storage conditions. On our own farms, we continue to grade heavily for bat scratching with this issue expected for another five to six weeks. In addition to the loss as a result of the tropical low, waste relating to grade outs of bat marked fruit has been in the vicinity of 30-35% of each days pack out - we will continue to be vigilant in this respect to ensure inclusion in our carton is kept to an acceptable level.

Retail ticket pricing in Queensland for cavendish varied significantly between the major supermarkets with Aldi's ticket price at $2.99/kg; Woolworths at $3.00 to $3.90/kg and Coles offering fruit at $2.00 to $3.50/kg dependent upon the store locality. Quality also varied greatly with a number of lines having visible skin marking including bat scratching, sap staining, rust thrip damage, neck injuries and rub marking.




RETAIL SNAPSHOT OF BANANAS

Above: Coles Gleneg SA, Carindale and Greenslopes

  • Gleneg and Greenslopes were retailing Cavendish @ $3.90 per kg- some minor neck injury, sap staining and scarring was visible. Fruit on display at Carindale was selling at $3.00 per kg

  • Greenslopes Coles also had Lady Fingers priced at $7.90 (although very low stock) and kids packs on sale at $1.95.

Above: Aldi Carindale and Drewvale

  • Both stores had Cavendish @ $2.99, some with skin markings and sap staining as well as some backward fruit

  • Lady Finger bananas were priced @ $5.99

Above: Woolworths Gleneg SA, Carindale and Parkinson

  • Carindale and Parkinson stores had Cavendish bananas priced @ $3.00 per kg and Lil Sana packs also at $3.00 whilst Gleneg SA Woolworths has Cavendish at $3.90 per kg and Lil Sana packs at $2.50.

  • Gleneg Woolworths had Lady Fingers at $7.90/kg whilst Carindale had Lady Fingers at $6.90

  • Carindale had Red tips at $4.50/kg

2021-Week 8

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QUICKLINKS

AVOCADO OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

Fruit still primarily coming from New Zealand accounting for 49% of the production last week; followed by North Qld with 45%; WA’s contribution has fallen to 4%. The remaining 2% came from Central NSW and Central Qld. Pricing has come back in the market place with Chilean fruit still selling from $10.00-$20.00/tray, NZ fruit is selling $10 --$40/tray and new season Shepards main sales for premium in the range of $36 --$40/tray. New season North Qld Shepards, have again increased slightly in volume climbing to a supply of 133,000 trays last week with a predicted 145,000 to be packed this week from the region. Presentation is generally good with fruit having good shape and glossy skins. Rain in the region has continued to impact harvesting for a number of farms this week. Whilst other farms have completed spot picks and are allowing their crops to continue sizing up before going back in to harvest further. Premium quality NZ tray fruit still selling in the range of $40 --$45/tray dependent upon size - still good volumes of NZ fruit within the marketplace which is expected to continue for at least another week with final supplies being airfreighted to Australia being given priority over other fruits coming from NZ. Pricing for class one fruit (main sales) is ranging $26 --$34 per tray; whilst the bulk market has been experiencing prices for premium in the range of $42 --$50/ctn and for class one and 2nds $10 --$25/ctn.

The availability of suitably sized Shepards for formulation of prepacks should be on target for the changeover from NZ Hass to Australian grown Shepards from next week. There may well still be some New Zealand sourced fruit continued to be used in the formulation of 5 and 6 piece value propositions for some customers.

In terms of Shepard retail pricing in Qld shelf prices were as follows: Aldi Qld price lifted to $2.29 per piece whilst Aldi Victoria celebrated the commencement of their Shepard season with a catalogue price special on count 23/25's at $1.99ea; Woolworths Qld had prominently positioned instore displays of Shepards ticketed at $2.00 ea whilst Coles in Qld were still displaying NZ Skylark Hass with a multi-purchase offer of 2 for $4.00 or if purchased singularly $2.50ea - this fruit was of sound quality and unlike last week, there was a good mix of maturity on offer. Fruit quality on display this week was generally good though there are a few issues with some lines developing anthracnose/body rots amongst Shepard supplies.

SUPERMARKET PRICING FOR THIS WEEK  

RETAIL SNAPSHOTS OF AVOCADOS

Above: Coles Capalaba, Forest Lake and Fairfield Displays

  • Loose NZ Skylark Hass $2.50ea or 2 for $4 at stores, mix of ripe and firm fruit

  • 5 pack netted bags at $10.50 ea

Above: Aldi Capalaba, Forest Lake and Fairfield Stores

  • All stores stocked both NQ Shepards @ $2.29ea and 6 piece Hass at $6.99

Above: Woolworths Capalaba, Forest Lake and Moorooka

  • All stores had Shepard avocados at $2.00ea

  • Capalaba and Moorooka had Hass 5 piece packs at $8.00

  • Capalaba and Forest Lake had 1kg Odd Bunch packs at $9.00

  • Capalaba also had new 3 piece Hass packs at $9.00

BANANA OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

The national banana cut last week reduced slightly by 15,448 cartons to a total of 465,040 cartons which represents a decrease of 3.2% on the previous week. National production is expected to be within the range of 450-470K cartons next week. The weather in the past week has seen minimum temps of 19.7 - 22.7C and maximum day temps of 25.3 to 34.3C across all North Qld growing regions. The rain continued to fall intermittently in North Qld last week with a further 40 mm in Mareeba since last Wednesday; whilst the Tully region has had a further rainfall of 314mm for the week up to today with the heaviest day being last Friday with gauges reading of 129.6mm; meanwhile Innisfail’s heaviest day in the last week was also last Friday with a further fall of 88.4mm. Whilst there was some localized flooding experienced last week in relation to the Herbert and Tully river levels rising, this has now eased.

Quality continues to be quite mixed on store shelves with bat and bird damage, sap staining and minor skin marking detracting from fruit appearance. On our own farms, despite grading out the worst of the fruit affected by bat scratching we have not been happy regarding feedback we have received, so this week in the pack shed we have graded even harder discarding more fruit in an effort to ensure good shelf appearance. Waste this week has been in the vicinity of 35-45% of each days pack out due to the amount of damage the local bat population has caused. We will be keen to see how the fruit being sent from farm this week looks after ripening. We expect bat scratched fruit from our region to be in the system for at least a further 6 weeks.

Retail ticket pricing in Queensland for cavendish varied significantly between the major supermarkets with Aldi's ticket price at $2.99/kg; Woolworths at $3.00 to $3.90/kg and Coles offering fruit at $2.00 to $3.50/kg dependent upon the store locality. Quality also varied greatly with a number of lines having visible skin marking including bat scratching, sap staining, rust thrip damage, neck injuries and rub marking. There was also a few incidences of very dull appearance which appeared to be caused by chilling either whilst the fruit has been in storage or during transport.




RETAIL SNAPSHOT OF BANANAS

Above: Coles Capalaba, Forest Lake and Fairfield

  • Forest Lake and Fairfield were retailing Cavendish @ $3.50 per kg- some minor neck injury, sap staining, scarring were visible. Fruit on display at Capalaba was selling at $2.00 per kg

  • All stores also retailing the 750g kids banded clusters @ $3.00ea

  • Lady Fingers selling @ $7.90 per kg

Above: Aldi Capalaba, Forest Lake and Fairfield

  • All stores had Cavendish @ $2.99, some with skin markings and sap staining

  • Lady Finger bananas were priced @ $5.99, some also with skin markings

  • Lil Snackers packs were priced at $2.49

Above: Woolworths Capalaba, Forest Lake and Moorooka

  • Capalaba and Forest Lake stores had Cavendish bananas priced @ $3.00 per kg and Lil Sana packs also at $3.00

  • Moorooka Woolworths had Cavendish at $3.90/kg and Lil Sana packs at $3.50

  • All stores had Lady Fingers at $6.90/kg with two of the stores needing to refill displays.

2021-Week 7

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QUICKLINKS

AVOCADO OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

Fruit still primarily coming from New Zealand accounting for 56% of the production last week; followed by North Qld with 34%; WA’s contribution has fallen to 8% and the remaining 2% coming from Central NSW/Tristate regions. Pricing is vey mixed in the market place Chilean fruit is selling from $5.00-$20.00/tray, NZ fruit is selling $10 --$40/tray whilst there is still some Australian Hass selling up to $60.00/tray and new season Shepards main sales for premium in the range of $40 --$45/tray last week. New season North Qld Shepards, have again increased slightly in volume and this is expected to gradually climb reaching approximately 250,000 trays per week in another two - three weeks time to be harvested/ week. Presentation is generally good with fruit having good shape and glossy skins. Rain in the region has continued to impact harvesting for a number of farms this week, with some very heavy falls today up to 83mm and more expected in the latter part of the week. Premium quality NZ tray fruit still selling in the range of $40 --$45/tray dependent upon size - still good volumes of NZ fruit within the marketplace which is expected to continue for at least another fortnight. Pricing for class one fruit (main sales) is ranging $26 --$34 per tray; whilst the bulk market has been experiencing prices for premium in the range of $38 --$40/ctn and for class one and 2nds $10 --$25/ctn. The availability of suitably sized Shepards for formulation of prepacks at this stage of the season whilst is picking up slowly is still limited as most growers are still focusing on picking larger fruit and allowing smaller fruit to continue to size up on the tree. New Zealand sourced fruit continues to be the main supply when it comes to the formulation of 5 and 6 piece value propositions for all major supermarkets on the east coast of Australia with changeover to Shepard prepack options expected at the end of this month.

In terms of Shepard retail pricing in Qld shelf prices were as follows: Aldi had celebrated the commencement of their Shepard season with a catalogue price special on count 23/25's at $1.99ea; whilst Woolworths had prominently positioned instore displays of Shepards ticketed at $2.50 ea. Coles in Qld were still displaying NZ Skylark Hass on shelf with a multi-purchase offer of 2 for $5.00 or if purchased singularly $2.90ea - this fruit was of sound quality but quite firm. Fruit quality on display this week in general, saw a reasonable mix of maturity, the Shepards on display in Woolworths stores were of mixed quality - with the presence of some anthracnose rot and breakdown found throughout trays in the stores visited.

SUPERMARKET PRICING FOR THIS WEEK  

RETAIL SNAPSHOTS OF AVOCADOS

Above: Coles Kenmore, Indooroopilly and Garden City Displays

  • Loose NZ Skylark Hass $2.90ea or 2 for $5 at stores, mix of ripe and firm fruit

  • 5 pack netted bags at $8.90 ea

Above: Aldi Calamvale, Indooroopilly and Garden City Stores

  • Aldi Indooroopilly stocked both NZ Hass @ $2.49 and NQ Shepards @ $1.99ea

  • Aldi Calamvale and Garden City only stocked NZ Hass from Avoco (Skylark fruit) selling @ $2.49ea

  • All stores had 6 piece nets of NZ Hass retailing @ $8.99

Woolworths KENMORE

Above: Woolworths Kenmore, Indooroopilly and Garden City

  • Woolworths Kenmore had a new season Shepard display positioned prominently in the department, count 23 fruit packed 29th Jan from Greenskins meant that fruit was 18 days old, selling @ $2.20ea.

  • Woolworths Indooroopilly also had new season NQ Shepards selling @ $2.50ea, from Greenskins, count 20 packed on the 2nd of Feb, this fruit displayed some significant bruising with some squashed fruit

  • Woolworths Garden City also had Shepard avocados on display, priced at $2.50ea

BANANA OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

The national banana cut last week increased by 32,812 cartons to a total of 480,488 cartons which represents a further increase of 7.3% on the previous week. National production is expected to be within the range of 460-480K cartons next week. The weather in the past week has seen minimum temps of 20.5 - 24.7C and maximum day temps of 28.3 to 32.3C across all North Qld growing regions. North Qld also experienced a couple of days of heavier rainfall with 3.4 mm in Mareeba last Wednesday; whilst the Tully region since Monday has had a further rainfall of 143mm for the week up to today with the heaviest day being today with guages reading of 83.2mm; meanwhile Innisfail had a further fall of 42.4mm today. There is further rain forecast for Friday and Saturday, if this continues to be in the vicinity of 80-100mm per day there is a high risk of flooding, particularly in the Tully district.

Quality has been quite mixed with bat and bird damage seen on shelves, a little rust thrip damage, sap staining and minor skin marking detracting from fruit appearance. Our own farm has been affected by bats and we are wasting in the vicinity of 30-40% of each days pack out due to the amount of damage. Our Farm Manager and his packing team are working hard to grade out as much as possible so that our fruit has good shelf appearance and will still meet quality specifications. Dependent upon the direction the bat population are travelling, some blocks are worse affected than others.

Retail ticket pricing in Queensland for cavendish varied significantly between the major supermarkets with Aldi's ticket price at $2.99/kg; Woolworths at $3.00/kg and Coles offering fruit at $3.00 to $3.90/kg. Quality also varied greatly with a number of lines having visible skin marking, sap staining, rust thrip damage, neck injuries and rub marking - it was also noted that a number of stores had fruit with girths that exceeded spec.

RETAIL SNAPSHOT OF BANANAS

cOLES indooroopilly

Above: Coles Kenmore, Indooroopilly and Garden City

  • All stores were retailing Cavendish @ $3.90 per kg- some minor neck injury, sap staining, scarring were visible. Fruit on display at Kenmore was grey with some overfull fingers found splitting.

  • Both stores also retailing the 750g kids banded clusters @ $3.00ea

  • Lady Fingers selling @ $7.90 per kg and Red Tips at $5.00

Above: Aldi Calamvale, Indooroopilly and Garden City

  • All stores had Cavendish @ $2.99, some with skin markings and sap staining

  • Lady Finger bananas were priced @ $5.99, some also with skin markings

Above: Woolworths Kenmore, Indooroopilly and Garden City

  • All stores had Cavendish bananas priced @ $3.00 per kg

  • Kids packs were also @ $3.00 while Organic variety and red tips were priced @ $4.50 and Lady Fingers @ $6.90

2021-Week6

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QUICKLINKS

AVOCADO OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

Fruit still primarily coming from New Zealand accounting for 47% of the production this week; followed by North Qld with 33%; WA who contributed 18% and the remaining 2% coming from Central NSW. Pricing is vey mixed in the market place Chilean fruit is selling from $5.00/tray, NZ fruit with colour is selling $8 --$10/tray whilst there is still some Australian Hass selling up to $65.00/tray and new season Shepards main sales for premium in the range of $42 --$50/tray last week. New season North Qld Shepards, have increased slightly in volume, lifting last week to 93K trays from the region. Presentation is generally very good. Rain in the region last week hampered picking a little but rather than prolonged periods of wet weather, it has been the isolated day of heavy rain e.g. up to 70mm on Wednesday in Mareeba. More rain is predicted for late this week. Supply is expected to increase steadily over the next few weeks. Premium quality NZ tray fruit still selling in the range of $40 --$50/tray dependent upon size this is not expected to hold and may come back by the end of the week. Pricing for class one fruit (main sales) is ranging $28 --$36 per tray; whilst the bulk market has been experiencing prices for premium in the range of $45 --$55/ctn and for class one and 2nds $8 --$20/ctn. There is limited supply of suitably sized Shepards for formulation of prepacks at this stage of the season as most growers are still only spot picking larger fruit and as such New Zealand sourced fruit continues to be the sole supply when it comes to the formulation of 5 and 6 piece value propositions for all major supermarkets on the east coast of Australia. The major supermarkets are intending to changeover to Shepard prepack options at the end of this month.

In terms of Hass retail pricing in Qld shelf prices were as follows Aldi had the best retail offer of count 23/25's at $2.49ea whilst Coles had fruit at $2.90 ea and Woolworths had a ticket price of $2.70ea to $3.00ea. Whilst both Coles and Aldi were still primarily offering NZ Hass, Woolworths Qld had good Shepard Avocado displays taking front and centre these were priced the same as Hass in stores that stocked both. Fruit quality on display this week saw a reasonable mix of maturity on offer, with some ready to eat now in most stores frequented.

SUPERMARKET PRICING FOR THIS WEEK  

RETAIL SNAPSHOTS OF AVOCADOS

Above: Coles Cooparoo and Coles Woodridge Displays

  • Loose NZ Skylark Hass $2.90ea at both stores, mix of ripe and firm fruit

  • 5 pack netted bags at $9.90 ea, odd piece squashed within bag

Above: Aldi Coorparoo and Aldi Woodridge Stores

  • Aldi Coorparoo stocked both NZ Hass @ $2.79 and NQ Shepards @ $2.49ea, the Shepards were much fresher, with Hass being 26 days old

  • Aldi Woodridge only stocked NZ Hass from Avoco (Skylark fruit) selling @ $2.49ea

  • Both stores has 6 piece nets of NZ Hass retailing @ $8.99

Woolworths woodridge

Above: Woolworths Coorparoo and Woolworths Woodridge

  • Woolworths Coorparoo had a new season Shepard display positioned prominently in the department but unfortunately had the Hass header card still displayed, count 20 fruit packed 28th Jan from Greenskins meant that fruit was 13 days old, selling @ $3.00ea. Presence of minor skin marking and odd piece developing rot.

  • Woolworths Woodridge also had new season NQ Shepards selling @ $2.70ea, supplied by Costas- fruit from DBC Farming and Avocado Estates, count 28, packed the 20th Jan therefore 21 days old

  • Woolworths Woodridge also had on offer 1kg odd bunch bags of Shepards, no price ticket on display

BANANA OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

The national banana cut last week increased by 45,784 cartons to a total of 447,676 cartons which represents an increase of 11.39% on the previous week. National production is expected to be similar next week. The weather in the past week has seen minimum temps of 19.8 - 24.0C and maximum day temps of 30.5 to 33.4C across all North Qld growing regions. North Qld also experienced a couple of days of heavier rainfall with 74.4 mm in Mareeba last Wednesday; whilst the Tully region had a total of 210mm for the week with the heaviest day being Saturday with guage readings of 70.8mm; meanwhile Innisfail had a total of 149.6mm with the heaviest day also being Saturday with a fall of 75.2mm. There is further rain forecast for late this week, if heavy then there is a high risk of flooding, particularly in the Tully district.

Quality has been quite mixed with bat and bird damage prevalent, sap staining and minor skin marking detracting from fruit appearance. Farms affected by bats are wasting an additional 10-15% on top of their normal grade-outs as a result of the damage this protected species is causing.

Retail ticket pricing in Queensland for cavendish varied significantly between the major supermarkets with Aldi's ticket price at $2.49/kg; Woolworths at $3.00/kg and Coles offering fruit at $3.90/kg. Quality also varied greatly with a number of lines of fruit having visible skin marking, sap staining, neck injuries and rub marking - Aldi stores in general tended to be offering fruit that was grey in appearance (suggesting this had been chilled in storage) with some clusters splitting.


RETAIL SNAPSHOT OF BANANAS

cOLES WOODRIDGE

Above: Coles Coorparoo and Coles Woodridge

  • Both stores were retailing Cavendish @ $3.90 per kg- minor neck injury, sap staining, scarring were visible. Fruit on display at Cooparoo was grey with some overfull fingers found splitting.

  • Both stores also retailing the 750g kids banded clusters @ $3.90ea, these were also exhibiting minor skin marking

  • Lady Fingers selling @ $6.90 per kg, stock was backward at Coorparoo

Above: Aldi Coorparoo and Aldi Woodridge

  • Both stores had Cavendish @ $2.49, with skin markings and sap staining

  • ‘Lil Snackers’ packs were retailed @ $2.49 also

  • Lady Finger bananas were priced @ $5.99, some with skin markings

Above: Woolworths Coorparoo and Woolworths Woodridge

  • Both stores had Cavendish bananas priced @ $3.00 per kg

  • Kids packs were also @ $3.00 while Organic variety were priced @ $4.50 and Lady Fingers @ $7.90

2021-Week5

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QUICKLINKS

AVOCADO OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

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SNAPSHOT OF AVOCADOS

BANANA OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

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SNAPSHOT OF BANANAS