May 26, 2022

2022-Week -21

May 26, 2022/ Paul Wilson

QUICKLINKS

AVOCADO OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

In a nutshell the national production figures for last week were as follows:

· Week 20 - 487,639 trays harvested and consigned this week which represents a significant increase of 37% ( or some 130,000 or so extra cartons) on Week 19, 2022 production – North Qld maintains the lead in production accounting for 67% of this; followed by Central Qld with 29%; 2% from South Qld and the remaining 2% is made up of a contribution from Sunshine Coast, Central NSW and Northern Rivers/Tamborine.

· It is forecast that a total of 421K trays will be despatched this week nationally, with the last few weeks continuing to be impacted by reduced harvestable days due to inclement weather across North Qld. The Hass forecast for the next two weeks is for between 400-420K trays per week and then supply is forecast to lighten to approximately 360K trays/week by mid June. The current four week average dispatch as of this week is 381,415 trays.

All major supermarkets are selling premium Hass at $1.49 to $1.80ea . Hass pricing has steadied somewhat this week, with prices ranging between $24-$28/tray for premium and a range of $17 -$21/tray for class one. There continues to be very few bulk Hass on the market currently as what is available is being used for prepacking to service the supermarkets predominantly.

The weather in North Qld for our avocado crop has seen daytime temperatures ranging 16.6 to 27.8C with lighter, more sporadic rain in the last week which has been welcomed. Unfortunately as our fruit travels and time passes we are seeing the development of some nodule damage - despite the fact that every care has been taken to avoid picking fruit when wet and to treat the fruit with due care to minimise damage - a level of lenticel/nodule damage is present. We have our ripening partners assessing fruit to specification and raising a flag if the level exceeds permissible levels to enable us to either seek a temporary variance to spec or move fruit to the market floor depending upon the severity.

Avocado display presentation in Qld stores this week was generally pleasing though there is a light presence of nodule damage on a few lines and a couple of lines that have a dull, sun blemished brown hue. Pricing this week varied with Hass unit pricing differing by $0.20 to $0.30 per unit between major retailers. Fruit age on display ranged 8 to 14 days.

In terms of Avocado retail pricing in Qld shelf prices were as follows: Aldi Qld had Hass and Gmax avos selling this week at a ticket price of $1.49ea; Coles Qld had NQ Hass ticketed at $1.70 ea and Gmax selling at $2.00 to $2.20ea; whilst Woolworths Qld had Hass selling at $1.70 to $1.80/piece depending upon store location and Gmax selling at $2.50ea. The fruit on shelves varied in condition with maturity ranging just yielding to soft (especially amongst the hass, any piece with a dull hue and sun blemish tended to be quite soft).

RETAIL SNAPSHOTS OF AVOCADOS

Below: Coles Mt Ommaney, Cooparoo and Fairfield Displays

In two of the three stores visited, Coles stores had Hass avocados priced at $1.70ea and were also stocking Greenskins Gmax avos selling at $1.90 ea. Fruit was well presented - all 7-16 days old and just yielding to firm with respects to maturity. Growers seen this week were mainly Greenskins Gmax, Simpsons, Rock Ridge Farming, Costa Farms; Ferraro Farms and Purpleskin Hass.
Both 1kg I’m Perfect packs and 5pks selling for $6.50ea.

Below: Aldi Mt Ommaney, Cooparoo and Fairfield Displays

Ferraro Farming Hass; Simpson Farms and Greenskin Gmax fruit in counts 23/25 loose @ $1.49 each.
Fruit age ranging 8 to 14 days.
5 piece Hass nets at $4.99 and 1kg Shepard packs at $5.99ea - most of these being supplied by Simpson Farms.

Below: Woolworths Mt Ommaney, Cooparoo and Moorooka Displays

Stores had Purpleskin Hass avocados at $1.50-1.80 each and Greenskin Gmax avocados at $2.20-2.50 each. All avocados 8-14 days old - some fruit is yielding to gentle pressure.
Both Prepacks priced at $7.00ea.

BANANA OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

In the last week, morning temperatures have been falling within a range of 16.6- to 21.7C; whilst day time temperatures have been similar to last week with a top of just under 28C -within a range of 24.7 to 27.4C across the week which for NQld is mild. In terms of rainfall, all major North Qld growing regions have been experiencing precipitation of light to moderate falls with increasing precipitation across latter part of the week. Both Tully and Innisfail regions received 104mm to 126mm accumulatively throughout the week. Walkamin and Mareeba experienced more sporadic light falls totalling 0.6mm to 2.1mm for the week. Cavendish banana bunch age is still in the vicinity of 15 weeks, with fruit quality generally good overall in our packshed though we continue to grade out some light scarring. Fruit bloom at this stage is still bright but as we are now in the autumnal season the weather will continue to cool and not only will we will see bunch age increase over the coming weeks and months but if field temperatures fall below 10C we may start to see a dulling of fruit in appearance.

Independent retailers were selling bananas at $3.29 to $3.99/kg this week. The markets all have moderate supplies of cavendish relative to demand with fruit selling at $16-$30 per carton, dependent upon quality and quantity each agent has.

The presentation of Cavendish presented reasonably well and fruit is exhibiting good bloom. There was still a presence of minor dry scar; minor neck damage; as well as bronzing; bruising; small rub marks and sap staining. Colour was generally good.

Retail ticket pricing in Queensland on bananas with little variance this week in comparison to the week prior and amongst the major supermarkets with Aldi’s banana ticket price at $3.49/kg; whilst both Woolies offered fruit at $3.50- $3.90/kg and Coles offered fruit at $3.00-$3.50/kg in the stores visited depending upon location.

RETAIL SNAPSHOT OF BANANAS

Below: Coles Mt Ommaney, Cooparoo and Fairfield Displays

Cavendish was priced at $3.00-3.50/kg. Kids packs at $3.00-3.50ea.
Quality across stores was quite good though some clusters found with minor skin marking and still a noticeable presence of heat affected fruit. Both minor and major bruising; neck injuries, rub and general scarring also found.
Lady Fingers were priced at $7.90/kg. Red Tips at $4.90/kg.

Below: Aldi Mt Ommaney; Cooparoo and Fairfield Displays

Stores had Cavendish @ $3.49/kg- there was a small presence of some green fruit, light bruising/skin marking and neck damage.
Lady Fingers were priced at $5.99/kg.

Below: Woolworths Mt Ommaney; Cooparoo and Moorooka Displays

Woolworths had Cavendish bananas priced at $3.90/kg, Lil Sana kids banded clusters at $2.50. Displays were generally well presented and whilst again some minor neck damage. Once store found with grey, dull, oversized in terms of length fruit.
Lady fingers were priced at $7.90/kg, Red tips were priced at $4.90/kg and Organic Clusters $5.50/kg

May 25, 2022

2022-Week 19

May 25, 2022/ Paul Wilson

QUICKLINKS

Avocado Overview

Banana Overview

AVOCADO OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

In a nutshell the national production figures for last week were as follows:

· Week 18 - 357,081 trays harvested and consigned this week which represents a 12% decrease ( or some 47,000 less cartons) on Week 17 -2022 production – North Qld maintains the lead in production accounting for 72% of this; followed by Central Qld with 25%; 2% from Central NSW and the final 1% is coming from a combination of South Qld, Tamborine and Northern Rivers.

· It is forecast that a total of 459K trays will be despatched this week nationally, with the last few weeks impacted by reduced harvestable days due to public holidays and continued rain in North Qld it certainly has been a busy period with more than a few headaches. Whilst there are the last of the Shepard Avos are making their way through the system, Hass volumes are expected to be close to 420K in week 19 and are forecast to be approximately 400K trays per week through until the second week of June.

All major supermarkets are selling premium Shepards’ at $1.29 to $1.60ea . Hass, new season NQ fruit were selling $1.29 to $1.80 per piece; whilst independents were selling larger class one NQ Hass for up to 2/$6.00 - depending upon variety/quality/size. Hass pricing has increased on last week, as the volume of shepards continue to reduce, with prices ranging between $22-$26/tray for premium and a range of $16 -$22/tray for class one. Shepard’s are only fetching a top of $10.00-$16.00/tray for premiums in the market; with class one Shepards’ back to $6-$9/tray and Bulks $3 to $12 depending upon grade and quality. Very few bulk Hass on the market currently.

The weather in North Qld for our avocado crop has seen daytime temperatures ranging 17.2 to 29.3C with moderate to heavy rainfall since last week with accumulative weekly falls of 25-330mm - this has continued to impact harvesting with a number of days this week whereby picking has not been possible, or only a light pick later in the day and thereby reduced the output from the region for the week.

Avocado display presentation in Qld stores this week was generally pleasing though there were some signs of bruising. Fruit age for Shepards age ranged 7 to 21 days; whilst new season Hass tended to be around 7-14 days old.

In terms of Avocado retail pricing in Qld shelf prices were as follows: Aldi Qld had Shepard and Hass avos selling at a ticket price of $1.29 to $1.49ea; Coles Qld had NQ Shepards and Hass ticketed at $1.70 ea; and Woolworths Qld had prominently positioned instore displays of Hass and Shepards at $1.60ea and new season NQ Hass ticketed at $1.50ea, depending upon location. The fruit on shelves varied in condition with maturity ranging just yielding to soft dependent upon age of variety and age of fruit.

RETAIL SNAPSHOTS OF AVOCADOS

Below: Coles Loganholme, Garden City and Springwood Displays

In all of the three stores visited, Coles stores Shepards avocados priced at $1.70ea. Fruit was well presented - all 13-14 days old and just yielding to firm with respects to maturity. Growers seen this week were mainly Greenskins, Rock Ridge; Simpsons, Howe Farming and Purpleskins.
Both 1kg I’m Perfect packs and 5pks selling for $6.50ea.

Below: Aldi Loganholme, Garden City and Springwood Displays

Hass and Shepard fruit in counts 23/25 loose @ $1.29-$1.49 each.
Fruit age range is 7 to 15 days.
6 piece Shepard nets at $4.99 and 1kg packs at $4.99ea.

Below: Woolworths Loganholme, Garden City and Springwood Displays

Stores had Purpleskin Hass avocados at $1.50-1.80 each and Greenskin Shepard avocados at $1.60 each. All avocados 7-13 days old - some fruit is yielding to gentle pressure.
5 piece packs and 1kg packs at $6.50ea.

BANANA OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

Last week total banana industry production was in the vicinity of 400K cartons. The weather forecast is for more rain and after the week we have just had this is probably the last thing we need. temperatures have been falling within a range of 17.2- to 23.5C; whilst day time temperatures have been similar to last week with a top of just under 30C -within a range of 25.3 to 29.5C across the week. In terms of rainfall, all major North Qld growing regions have been experiencing precipitation of moderate to heavy falls with increasing precipitation across latter part of the week. Both Innisfail and Tully regions received 299mm to 330mm accumulatively throughout the week. Walkamin and Mareeba experienced lighter falls totalling 21mm to 25mm for the week. Cavendish banana bunch age is still in the vicinity of 15 weeks, with fruit quality generally good overall in our packshed though we continue to grade out some light scarring. Fruit bloom at this stage is still bright but as we are now in the autumnal season the weather will continue to cool and not only will we will see bunch age increase over the coming weeks and months but if field temperatures fall below 10C we may start to see a dulling of fruit in appearance.

Independent retailers were selling bananas at $1.99 to $3.99/kg this week. The markets all have moderate supplies of cavendish relative to demand with fruit selling at $15-$28 per carton, dependent upon quality and quantity each agent has.

The presentation of Cavendish presented reasonably well, in fact if making a generalised statement across all major banners there was considerable improvement with cleaner fruit with good bloom. There was still a presence of minor dry scar; minor neck damage; as well as bronzing; bruising; small rub marks and sap staining but less significant in comparison to the the preceding four week period. Colour was generally good; though notably a number of stores seemed to have a higher proportion of semi-colour fruit at all three stores visited this week.

Retail ticket pricing in Queensland on bananas with little variance this week in comparison to the week prior and amongst the major supermarkets with Aldi’s banana ticket price at $3.49/kg; whilst both Woolies and Coles offered fruit at $3.00-$3.50/kg depending upon location visited.

RETAIL SNAPSHOT OF BANANAS

Below: Coles Loganholme, Garden City and Springwood Displays

Cavendish was priced at $3.50-3.90/kg. Kids packs at $3.50ea.
Quality across stores was quite good though some clusters found with minor skin marking and still a noticeable presence of heat affected fruit. Both minor and major bruising; neck injuriues, rub and general scarring also found.
Lady Fingers were priced at $7.90/kg and Red Tips at $4.90/kg.

Below: Aldi Loganholme, Garden City and Springwood Displays

Stores had Cavendish @ $3.49/kg- there was a common presence of some green fruit, light bruising/skin marking and neck damage.
Lady Fingers were priced at $5.99/kg.

Below: Woolworths Loganholme, Garden City and Springwood Displays

Woolworths had Cavendish bananas priced at $3.50-3.90/kg, Lil Sana kids banded clusters at $2.50. Displays were generally well presented and whilst again some minor neck damage.
Lady fingers were priced at $7.90/kg, Red tips were priced at $4.90/kg and Organic Clusters $4.90/kg

May 24, 2022

2022-Week -20

May 24, 2022/ Paul Wilson

QUICKLINKS

Banana Overview

Avocado Overview

AVOCADO OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

In a nutshell the national production figures for last week were as follows:

· Week 19 - 357,081 trays harvested and consigned this week which represents a decrease of 12% ( or some 47,000 or so cartons) on Week 18 -2022 production – North Qld maintains the lead in production accounting for 72% of this; followed by Central Qld with 25%; 2% from Central NSW and the remaining 1% is coming from a combination of South Qld and Northern Rivers/Tamborine.

· It is forecast that a total of 459K trays will be despatched this week nationally, with the last few weeks impacted by reduced harvestable days due to inclement weather across North Qld. The Hass forecast for the next few weeks is for between 400-420K trays per week.. Whilst plenty of fruit is forecast, we just have to hope that the rain we have been experiencing in recent weeks, lessens or at very least the showers are either early/later in the day, allowing the harvest to be undertaken in dry conditions. The forecast however is for more of the same conditions.

All major supermarkets are selling premium Hass at $1.00 to $1.70ea . Hass pricing has continued to increase on last week, with prices ranging between $24-$32/tray for premium and a range of $17 -$25/tray for class one. There are very few bulk Hass on the market currently as what is available is being used for prepacking to service the supermarkets predominantly.

The weather in North Qld for our avocado crop has seen daytime temperatures ranging 15.7 to 29.5C with light to moderate to rain since last weekend with accumulative weekly falls of 32-75mm - this has continued to impact harvesting with a number of days this week whereby there has been no picking, or only a light pick later in the day. These continued wet conditions have also resulted in a presence of lenticel damage to fruit - every care is taken to avoid picking fruit when wet and to treat the fruit with due care to minimise damage.

Avocado display presentation in Qld stores this week was generally pleasing though some of the new season hass looked rather ordinary. Pricing this week varied with Hass unit pricing differing by $0.20 to $0.80 per unit between retailers. Fruit age ranged 7 to 16 days.

In terms of Avocado retail pricing in Qld shelf prices were as follows: Aldi Qld had Hass and Gmax avos selling this week at a ticket price of $1.49ea; Coles Qld had NQ Hass ticketed at $1.00 to $1.70 ea depending upon store location and Gmax selling at $2.00ea; whilst Woolworths Qld had Hass selling at $1.50 to $1.80/piece depending upon store location and Gmax selling at $2.50ea, depending upon location. The fruit on shelves varied in condition with maturity ranging just yielding to soft (especially amongst the hass, any piece with a dull hue and sun blemish tended to be quite soft).

RETAIL SNAPSHOTS OF AVOCADOS

Below: Coles Carindale, Redbank Plains and Chermside Displays

In two of the three stores visited, Coles stores had Hass avocados priced at $1.70ea, one store had them, on special at $1.00ea and were also stocking Greenskins Gmax avos selling at $2.00 ea. Fruit was well presented - all 7-16 days old and just yielding to firm with respects to maturity. Growers seen this week were mainly Greenskins Gmax, Simpsons, Rock Ridge Farming, Costa Farms; Ferraro Farms and Purpleskin Hass.
Both 1kg I’m Perfect packs and 5pks selling for $6.50ea.

Below: Aldi Carindale, Redbank Plains and Chermside Displays

Hass and Greenskin Gmax fruit in counts 23/25 loose @ $1.49 each.
Fruit packed 5th to 12th May so fruit age ranging 7 to 16 days.
5 piece Hass nets at $4.99 and 1kg Shepard packs at $4.99ea.

Below: Woolworths Carindale, Goodna and Chermside Displays

Stores had Purpleskin Hass avocados at $1.50-1.80 each and Greenskin Gmax avocados at $1.70 each. All avocados 9-14 days old - some fruit is yielding to gentle pressure.
5 piece packs at $6.50ea and 1kg packs on special at $6.00ea.

BANANA OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

As we know the weather has a significant impact on cropping. In the last week, morning temperatures have been falling within a range of 15.7- to 22.4C; whilst day time temperatures have been similar to last week with a top of just under 30C -within a range of 26.6 to 30.4C across the week. In terms of rainfall, all major North Qld growing regions have been experiencing precipitation of light to moderate falls with increasing precipitation across latter part of the week. Both Tully and Innisfail regions received 72.8mm to 74.4mm accumulatively throughout the week. Walkamin and Mareeba experienced falls totalling 32m to 32.4mm for the week. Cavendish banana bunch age is still in the vicinity of 15 weeks, with fruit quality generally good overall in our packshed though we continue to grade out some light scarring. Fruit bloom at this stage is still bright but as we are now in the autumnal season the weather will continue to cool and not only will we will see bunch age increase over the coming weeks and months but if field temperatures fall below 10C we may start to see a dulling of fruit in appearance.

Independent retailers were selling bananas at $2.99 to $3.99/kg this week. The markets all have moderate supplies of cavendish relative to demand with fruit selling at $16-$30 per carton, dependent upon quality and quantity each agent has.

Retail ticket pricing in Queensland on bananas with little variance this week in comparison to the week prior and amongst the major supermarkets with Aldi’s banana ticket price at $3.49/kg; whilst both Woolies offered fruit at $3.90/kg and Coles offered fruit at $3.50/kg in the stores visited.

RETAIL SNAPSHOT OF BANANAS

Below: Coles Carindale, Redbank Plains and Chermside Displays

Cavendish was priced at $3.50/kg. Kids packs at $3.50ea.
Quality across stores was quite good though some clusters found with minor skin marking and still a noticeable presence of heat affected fruit. Both minor and major bruising; neck injuries, rub and general scarring also found.
Lady Fingers were priced at $7.90/kg.

Below: Aldi Carindale, Redbank Plains and Chermside Displays

Stores had Cavendish @ $3.49/kg- there was a common presence of some green fruit, light bruising/skin marking and neck damage.
Lady Fingers were priced at $5.99/kg.

Below: Woolworths Carindale, Goodna and Chermside Displays

Woolworths had Cavendish bananas priced at $3.90/kg, Lil Sana kids banded clusters at $2.50. Displays were generally well presented and whilst again some minor neck damage.
Lady fingers were priced at $7.90/kg, Red tips were priced at $4.90/kg and Organic Clusters $5.50/kg

May 11, 2022

2022-Week 18

May 11, 2022/ Paul Wilson

QUICKLINKS

Avocado Overview

Banana Overview

AVOCADO OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

In a nutshell the national production figures for last week were as follows:

· Week 17 - 274,986 trays harvested and consigned this week which represents a significant 19% increase ( or some 44,474 more cartons) on Week 16 -2022 production – North Qld maintains the lead in production accounting for 63% of this; followed by Central Qld with 32%; and the final 5% is coming from a combination of WA ,South Qld, Tamborine and Central NSW.

· The average industry dispatch per week over the last four week period has been 307,277 trays.

· It is forecast that a total of 341K trays will be despatched this week nationally, with the last few weeks impacted by reduced harvestable days due to public holidays in North Qld we will finally be back to a full week, This week Shepards are forecast to make up approximately half of this total and Hass the balance. Hass volumes are expected to be close to 300K in week 18 and are forecast to be almost 350K trays per week through until the end of May.

Hass Avocado projections for the next few weeks according to industry figures supplied by Avocados Australia by week number with forecasts as follows: Week 17 W/E 29/4 - 341K; Week 18 W/E 6/5- 292K; Week 19 W/E 13/5 - 345K and Week 20 W/E 20/5 - 369K. Plenty of fruit is forecast, we just have to hope that the rain we have been experiencing in recent weeks, lessens or at very least the showers are later in the day, allowing the harvest to be undertaken in dry conditions..

All major supermarkets are selling premium Shepards’ at $0.99 to $1.80ea . Hass, new season NQ fruit, were found at Woolworths stores selling these at $1.50 per piece; whilst independents were selling larger class one NQ Hass for up to 2/$4.00 - depending upon variety/quality/size. Hass pricing has increased on last week, as the volume of shepards continue to reduce, with prices ranging between $20-$24/tray for premium and a range of $12 -$18/tray for class one. Shepard’s are only fetching a top of $10.00-$15.00/tray for premiums in the market; with class one Shepards’ back to $6-$9/tray and Bulks $3 to $12 depending upon grade and quality. Very few bulk Hass on the market currently.

The weather in North Qld for our avocado crop has seen daytime temperatures ranging 17.2 to 29C with light to moderate to rain since last weekend with accumulative weekly falls of 14-71mm - this has continued to impact harvesting with a number of days this week whereby there has been no picking, or only a light pick later in the day.

Avocado display presentation in Qld stores this week was generally pleasing. Pricing this week varied was once again a little more uniform across all major supermarkets in relation to Shepards, though there was a greater variance in Hass pricing and whether these were stocked as yet or not. Fruit age for Shepards age ranged 7 to 21 days; whilst new season Hass tended to be around 7-14 days old. Both Woolworths stores and Coles stores are stocking NQ Autumn varieties of Hass as well as the green skin Shepards; with half of the display devoted to each varietal in most cases. Woolworths offer the different varieties at different price points; whilst Coles are offering both varieties at the same price point.

In terms of Avocado retail pricing in Qld shelf prices were as follows: Aldi Qld had Shepard avos selling again this week at a hot ticket price of $0.99 to $1.19ea; Coles Qld had NQ Shepards ticketed at $1.30 ea; and Woolworths Qld had prominently positioned instore displays Shepards at $1.80ea and new season NQ Hass ticketed at $1.50ea, depending upon location. The fruit on shelves varied in condition with maturity ranging just yielding to soft (expecially amongst the hass).

Pricing is provided as a guide to market prices being quoted at the time of going to print.

RETAIL SNAPSHOTS OF AVOCADOS

Below: Coles Sunnybank Hills, Garden City and Fairfield Displays

In all of the three stores visited, Coles stores Shepards avocados priced at $1.30ea. Fruit was well presented - all 7-16 days old and just yielding to firm with respects to maturity. Growers seen this week were mainly Greenskins, Simpsons, Howe Farming and Purpleskins.
1kg I’m Perfect packs on special this week retailing for $3.80ea. Coles 5pks selling for $5.50ea.

Below: Aldi Sunnybank Hills, Garden City and Fairfield Displays

Simpson Farms and Greenskin fruit in counts 23/25 loose @ $0.99-$1.19 each.
Fruit age range is 7 to 16 days.
6 piece Shepard nets at $4.49 and 1kg packs at $4.49ea.

Below: Woolworths Sunnybank Hills, Garden City and Moorooka Displays

Stores had Purpleskin Hass avocados at $1.50-1.80 each and Greenskin Shepard avocados at $1.50 each. All avocados 9-14 days old - some fruit is yielding to gentle pressure.
5 piece packs at $5.50/ pack and 1kg packs at $5.00ea.

BANANA OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

Last week total banana industry production was in the vicinity of 390K cartons. The weather forecast really needs to be “ warm with a more than a 50% chance of showers” and it would cover what has been happening in the north of Queensland. Mornings temperatures have been falling within a range of 17.2- to 23.4C; whilst day time temperatures have been similar to last week with a top of just under 30C -within a range of 23.5 to 29.3C across the week. In terms of rainfall, all major North Qld growing regions have been experiencing precipitation of light to moderate falls with increasing precipitation across latter part of the week. Both Tully and Innisfail regions received 11mm to 108mm accumulatively throughout the week. Walkamin and Mareeba experienced falls totalling 9mm to 14mm for the week. Cavendish banana bunch age is still in the vicinity of 15 weeks, with fruit quality generally good overall in our packshed though we continue to grade out some light scarring. Fruit bloom at this stage is still bright but as we are now in the autumnal season the weather will continue to cool and not only will we will see bunch age increase over the coming weeks and months but if field temperatures fall below 10C we may start to see a dulling of fruit in appearance.

Retail ticket pricing in Queensland on bananas with little variance this week in comparison to the week prior and amongst the major supermarkets with Aldi’s banana ticket price at $1.99/kg; whilst both Woolies and Coles offered fruit at $3.00-$3.50/kg depending upon location visited.

RETAIL SNAPSHOT OF BANANAS

Below: Coles Sunnybank Hills, Garden City and Fairfield Displays

Cavendish was priced at $3.50/kg. Kids packs at $2.50ea.
Quality across stores was quite good though some clusters found with minor skin marking and still a noticeable presence of heat affected fruit. Both minor and major bruising; neck injuriues, rub and general scarring also found.
Lady Fingers were priced at $7.90/kg and Red Tips at $4.90/kg.

Below: Aldi Sunnybank Hills, Garden City and Fairfield Displays

Stores had Cavendish @ $1.99/kg- there was a common presence of some green fruit, light bruising/skin marking and neck damage.
Lady Fingers were priced at $5.99/kg.

Below: Woolworths Sunnybank Hills, Garden City and Moorooka Displays

Woolworths had Cavendish bananas priced at $3.00/kg, Lil Sana kids banded clusters at $2.50. Displays were generally well presented and whilst again some minor neck damage.
Lady fingers were priced at $7.90/kg, Red tips were priced at $4.90/kg and Organic Clusters $4.90/kg

May 03, 2022

2022-Week 17

May 03, 2022/ Paul Wilson

QUICKLINKS

Avocado Overview

Banana Overview

AVOCADO OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

In a nutshell the national production figures for last week were as follows:

· Week 16 - 230,512 trays harvested and consigned this week which represents a significant 32% decrease ( or some 109,531 less cartons) on Week 15 -2022 production – North Qld maintains the lead in production accounting for 67% of this; followed by Central Qld with 29%; then WA at 3%; and the remaining 1% coming from South Qld.

· The average industry dispatch per week over the last four week period has been 344,201 trays.

· It is forecast that a total of 242K trays will be despatched this week nationally, lower volumes indicating that the Shepard season is nearing its end but also been impacted by reduced harvestable days due to Anzac day and Labour Day public holidays in North Qld, This week Shepards are forecast to make up appoximately half of this total and Hass the balance. Hass volumes are expected to double in week 18 and are forecast to be in the early 300,000’s trays per week through until the end of May.

Hass Avocado projections for the next few weeks according to industry figures supplied by Avocados Australia by week number with forecasts as follows: Week 17 W/E 29/4 - 129K; Week 18 W/E 6/5- 256K; Week 19 W/E 13/5 - 315K and Week 20 W/E 20/5 - 305K. By these industry projections, fruit supplies from Week Ending 13th May will be starting to reach numbers that will ensure a consistent supply of Hass.

All major supermarkets are selling premium Shepards’ at $0.99 to $1.40ea . Hass, new season NQ fruit, were found at Woolworths stores selling these at $1.80 per piece and Coles for $1.20 (where in stock), though there is a difference in size of fruit; whilst independents were selling larger class one NQ Shepards for up to 2/$4.00 - depending upon variety/quality/size. Hass pricing remained steady with a top now of $18/tray and a range of $14 -$18/tray for premium. Shepard’s are only fetching a top of $10.00-$13.00/tray for premiums in the market; with class one Shepards’ back to $6-$9/tray and Bulks $3 to $12 depending upon grade and quality.

The weather in North Qld for our avocado crop has seen daytime temperatures ranging 17.5 to 31C with moderate to heavy rain since last weekend with accumulative weekly falls of 75-200mm - this has significantly impacted harvesting with a number of days this week whereby there has been no picking, or only a light pick later in the day. Rock Ridge have harvested the last of our Shepards this week, though we may have a very light pick of small fruit for prepacks this coming Tuesday. We are also very excited to announce that we have commenced our Hass harvest with a light pick across Thursday/Friday - the first harvest is looking very nice (see image above), we are very conscious of the impact of the recent rainfall can have on fruit and are treating fruit very gently throughout the harvest/packing process and watching for the development of lenticel and nodule damage throughout our processes.

All of our farms have had Hass tested for dry matter percentages and I am very pleased to report that all growers have at least some of their farms that are ready to commence harvesting with results of 23.2 to 27.1% dry matter, there are a couple with results in the early to mid 22 percentiles that we will not harvest for another couple of weeks and have further dry matter testing before harvest commences on these blocks.

In terms of Avocado retail pricing in Qld shelf prices were as follows: Aldi Qld had Shepard avos selling again this week at a hot ticket price of $0.99ea; Coles Qld had both NQ Shepards and new season Autumn Hass ticketed at $1.20 ea; and Woolworths Qld had prominently positioned instore displays Shepards at $1.40ea and new season NQ Hass ticketed at $1.50-$1.80ea, depending upon location. The fruit on shelves varied in condition with maturity ranging just yielding to firm. There was a greater proportion of Hass yielding to gentle pressure in comparison with Shepards in general.

RETAIL SNAPSHOTS OF AVOCADOS

Below: Coles Kenmore, Garden City and Mt Gravatt Displays

In all of the three stores visited, Coles stores Shepards avocados priced at $1.20ea and Autumn Hass also priced at $1.20 a piece. Fruit was well presented - all 7-16 days old and just yielding to firm with respects to maturity. Growers seen this week were mainly Greenskins, Simpsons, Howe Farming and Purpleskins.
1kg I’m Perfect packs on special this week retailing for $3.80ea. Coles 5pks selling for $5.00ea.

Below: Aldi Kenmore, Garden City and Mt Gravatt Displays

Simpson Farms and Greenskin fruit in counts 23/25 loose @ $0.99 each everywhere.
Packed on dates range 11th to 20th April, so fruit age range is 7 to 16 days.
6 piece Shepard nets at $4.49 and 1kg packs at $3.99ea.

Below: Woolworths Kenmore, Garden City and Mt Gravatt Displays

Stores had Purpleskin Hass avocados at $1.50-1.80 each and Greenskin Shepard avocados at $1.40 each. All avocados 9-14 days old - some fruit is yielding to gentle pressure.
5 piece packs at $5.50/ pack and 1kg packs at $5.00ea.

BANANA OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

Last week total banana industry production was again in the vicinity of 410K cartons. The weather patterns are showing signs of change with slightly cooler mornings and peaks under 31C in the far North this week. Morning temperatures have been falling within a range of 18.1- to 23.5C; whilst day time temperatures have been similar to last week with a top of just 30C -within a range of 24.9 to 31.1C across the week. In terms of rainfall, all major North Qld growing regions receiving moderate to heavy falls with increasing precipitation across last weekend and early this week. Both Innisfail and Tully regions received 271mm to 334mm accumulatively throughout the week. Walkamin and Mareeba experienced falls totalling 75mm to 86mm for the week. Cavendish banana bunch age is still in the vicinity of 15 weeks, with fruit quality generally found to be good overall in our packshed though we continue to grade out some light scarring. As we are now in the autumnal season the weather will continue to gradually cool and we will see bunch age increase over the coming weeks and months.

Independent retailers were selling bananas at $1.99 to $3.49/kg this week. The markets all have moderate supplies of cavendish relative to demand with fruit selling at $12-$26 per carton, dependent upon quality and quantity each agent has.

The presentation of Cavendish presented reasonably well, in fact if making a generalised statement across all major banners there was considerable improvement with cleaner fruit with good bloom. There was still a presence of minor dry scar; minor neck damage; as well as bronzing; bruising; small rub marks and sap staining but less significant in comparison to the the preceding four week period. Colour was generally good; though notably Aldi stores seemed to have a higher proportion of semi-colour fruit at all three stores visited this week.

Retail ticket pricing in Queensland on bananas with little variance this week in comparison to the week prior and amongst the major supermarkets with Aldi’s banana ticket price at $1.99/kg; whilst both Woolies and Coles offered fruit at $2.00-$2.50/kg depending upon location visited.

RETAIL SNAPSHOT OF BANANAS

Below: Coles Kenmore, Garden City and Mt Gravatt Displays

Cavendish was priced at $2.00/kg. Kids packs at $2.50ea.
Quality across stores was quite good though some clusters found with minor skin marking and still a noticeable presence of heat affected fruit. Both minor and major bruising; neck injuriues, rub and general scarring also found.
Lady Fingers were priced at $7.90/kg and Red Tips at $4.90/kg.
One store had very minimal stock, perhaps waiting for a delivery?

Below: Aldi Kenmore, Garden City and Mt Gravatt Displays

Stores had Cavendish @ $1.99/kg- there was a common presence of some green fruit, light bruising/skin marking and neck damage.
Lady Fingers were priced at $5.99/kg.

Below: Woolworths Kenmore, Garden City and Mt Gravatt Displays

Woolworths had Cavendish bananas priced at $2.00/kg, Lil Sana kids banded clusters at $2.50. Displays were generally well presented and whilst again some minor neck damage.
Lady fingers were priced at $6.90/kg, Red tips were priced at $4.90/kg and Organic Clusters $4.50/kg

April 22, 2022

2022-Week 16

April 22, 2022/ Paul Wilson

QUICKLINKS

Avocado Overview

Banana Overview

AVOCADO OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

In a nutshell the national production figures for last week were as follows:

· Week 15 - 340,043 trays harvested and consigned this week which represents a 12% decrease ( or some 44,581 less cartons) on Week 14 -2022 production – North Qld maintains the lead in production accounting for 68% of this; followed by Central Qld with 23%; then WA at 5%; 3% from Central NSW and the remaining 1% coming from South Qld.

· The average industry dispatch per week over the last four week period has been 406,370 trays.

· It is forecast that a total of 270K trays will be despatched this week nationally, lower volumes indicating that the Shepard season is nearing its end but also been impacted by reduced harvestable days due to Easter and Anzac day public holidays, The week after the forecast is for a further 200K Shepard trays to be harvested nationally.

Whilst we are not quite there yet, it is important to be looking ahead to the new Hass season, should I say TRUE Hass Avocado projections for the next few weeks, according to industry figures supplied by Avocados Australia, by week number with forecasts as follows: Week 15W/E 15/4 - 36K; Week 16 W/E 22/4 - 63K; Week 17 W/E 29/4 - 136K; Week 18 W/E 6/5- 214K; Week 19 W/E 13/5 - 258K. By these industry projections, fruit supplies from Week Ending 13th May will be starting to reach numbers that will ensure a consistent supply of Hass. Now is the time to be undertaking your hass dry matter tests - please send me a copy of the results when you have received them back to share with the supermarkets. The intended changeover date at this stage to hass in store for Coles is 5th May and for our orders with Woolies it is not until the 15th May.

All major supermarkets are selling premium Shepards’ at $1.19 to $1.20ea . Hass, new season NQ fruit, were found at Woolworths stores selling these at $1.50-$1.80 per piece and Coles for $1.20, though there is a difference in size of fruit; whilst independents were selling larger class one NQ Hass for $2.00/piece or 3 large pieces for $5 and loose Shepards at $0.99 cents each and a 4 piece prepack for $2.99 - depending upon variety/quality/size. Hass pricing remained steady with a top now of $18/tray and a range of $14 -$18/tray for premium. Shepard’s are only fetching a top of $10.00-$13.00/tray for premiums in the market; with class one Shepards’ back to $6-$9/tray and Bulks $7 to $15 depending upon grade and quality.

The weather in North Qld for our Shepard crop has seen daytime temperatures ranging 17.1 to 30.2C with light rain at the start of the week and increasing rain towards the latter part of the week with predicted falls of 50-100mm across this coming weekend. A number of our growers have finished picking their Shepard crop and are preparing for their Hass season. Rock Ridge will be be harvesting Shepard again this coming week in an effort to complete our Shepard season, though we may have a very light pick into the first full week of May in order to complete this task. We are aiming to commence our Hass harvest either late this week or early the following week.

Avocado display presentation in Qld stores this week was generally pleasing. Pricing this week varied greatly across major supermarkets - as well as a variation noted in the sizing stocked by each banner. Fruit age for Shepards age ranged 9 to 20 days; whilst new season Hass tended to be around 12-14 days old. Both Woolworths stores and Coles stores are stocking NQ Autumn varieties of Hass as well as the green skin Shepards; with half of the display devoted to each varietal in most cases. Woolworths offer the different varieties at different price points; whilst Coles are offering both varieties at the same price point.

In terms of Avocado retail pricing in Qld shelf prices were as follows: Aldi Qld had Shepard avos selling at a hot ticket price of $0.99ea; Coles Qld had both NQ Shepards and new season Autumn Hass ticketed at $1.20 ea; and Woolworths Qld had prominently positioned instore displays Shepards at $1.00-$1.40ea and new season NQ Hass ticketed at $1.50-$1.80ea, depending upon location. The fruit on shelves varied in condition with maturity ranging just yielding to firm. There was a notable increase in skin marking and bruising this week as noted in each store visited below. There was a greater proportion of Hass yielding to gentle pressure in comparison with Shepards in general.

RETAIL SNAPSHOTS OF AVOCADOS

Below: Coles Indooroopilly, Garden City and Browns Plains Displays

In all of the three stores visited, Coles stores Shepards avocados priced at $1.20ea and Autumn Hass also priced at $1.20 a piece. Fruit was well presented - all 14-19 days old and just yielding to firm with respects to maturity. Growers seen this week were mainly Greenskins, Simpsons, Howe Farming and Purpleskins.
1kg I’m Perfect packs on special this week retailing for $4.90ea. Coles 5pks selling for $3.90ea.

Below: Aldi Indooroopilly, Garden City and Browns Plains Displays

Simpson Farms and Greenskin fruit in counts 23/25 loose @ $0.99 each everywhere.
Packed on dates range 1st to 4th April, so fruit age range is 16 to 19 days.
6 piece Shepard nets at $4.49 and 1kg packs at $3.99ea.

Below: Woolworths Indooroopilly, Garden City and Browns Plains Displays

Stores had Purpleskin Hass avocados at $1.50-1.80 each and Greenskin Shepard avocados at $1.00-1.30 each. All avocados 9-14 days old - some fruit is yielding to gentle pressure.
5 piece packs at $5.00/ pack and 1kg packs at $4.50ea.

BANANA OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

Last week we saw the total banana industry production reduce slightly to 403K cartons, which represented a decrease of 2,300 cartons on the week prior. The weather patterns are showing signs of change with slightly cooler mornings and peaks under 30C in the far North this week. Morning temperatures have been be a touch cooler across all NQ regions with early a.m. temps falling within a range of 17.1- to 22C; whilst day time temperatures have been similar to last week with a top of just 30C -within a range of 26.1 to 30C across the week. In terms of rainfall, all major North Qld growing regions receiving light to moderate falls with increasing precipitation predicted for late this week. Both Innisfail and Tully regions received 58.8mm down to 53.6mm throughout the week with falls of up to 100mm predicted from Friday. Walkamin and Mareeba had much lighter rainfall ranging 3.4mm to 5.8mm for the week. Cavendish banana bunch age is still in the vicinity of 14-15 weeks, with fruit quality generally found to be good overall in our packshed though we continue to grade out some light scarring. As we are now in the autumnal season the weather will continue to gradually cool and we will see bunch age increase over the coming weeks and months.

Independent retailers were selling bananas at $1.99 to $2.99/kg this week. The markets all have moderate supplies of cavendish relative to demand with fruit selling at $12-$22 per carton, dependent upon quality and quantity each agent has.

The presentation of Cavendish presented reasonably well, in fact if making a generalised statement across all major banners there was considerable improvement with cleaner fruit with good bloom. There was still a presence of minor dry scar; minor neck damage; as well as bronzing; bruising; small rub marks and sap staining but less significant in comparison to the the preceding four week period. Colour was generally good; though notably Aldi stores seemed to have a higher proportion of semi-colour fruit at all three stores visited this week.

Retail ticket pricing in Queensland on bananas with little variance this week in comparison to the week prior and amongst the major supermarkets with Aldi’s banana ticket price at $2.99/kg; whilst both Woolies and Coles offered fruit at $3.00-$3.50/kg depending upon location visited.

RETAIL SNAPSHOT OF BANANAS

Below: Coles Indooroopilly, Garden City and Browns Plains Displays

Cavendish was priced at $3.00-3.50/kg. Kids packs also at $2.50-3.00ea.
Quality across stores was quite good though some clusters found with minor skin marking and still a noticeable presence of heat affected fruit. Both minor and major bruising; neck injuriues, rub and general scarring also found.
Lady Fingers were priced at $7.90/kg and Red Tips at $4.90/kg.
Organic Variety present in every store also, priced at $4.90/kg.

Below: Aldi Indooroopilly, Garden City and Browns Plains Displays

Stores had Cavendish @ $2.99/kg- there was a common presence of some green fruit, light bruising/skin marking and neck damage.
Lady Fingers were priced at $5.99/kg.

Below: Woolworths Indooroopilly, Garden City and Browns Plains Displays

Woolworths had Cavendish bananas priced at $3.00/kg, Lil Sana kids banded clusters at $2.50. Displays were generally well presented and whilst again some minor neck damage.
Lady fingers were priced at $7.90/kg, Red tips were priced at $4.90/kg and Organic Clusters $4.50/kg

April 14, 2022

2022-Week 15

April 14, 2022/ Paul Wilson

QUICKLINKS

Avocado Overview

Banana Overview

Wishing you all a Happy Easter! 🥑

AVOCADO OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

In a nutshell the national production figures for last week were as follows:

· Week 14 - 384,624 trays harvested and consigned this week which represents a 9% decrease ( or some 37,000 less cartons) on Week 13 -2022 production – North Qld maintains the lead in production accounting for 68% of this; followed by Central Qld with 24.5%; then WA at 5.5% and the remaining 2% coming from Sunshine Coast.

· The average industry dispatch per week over the last four week period has been 441,606 trays.

· It is forecast that a total of 325K trays will be despatched this week nationally, a little lighter with the impact of Easter public holidays,

All major supermarkets are selling premium Shepards’ at $1.19 to $1.30ea . Hass, new season NQ fruit, were found at Woolworths stores selling these at $1.50-$1.80 per piece and Coles for $1.20, though there is a difference in size of fruit; whilst independents were selling larger class one NQ Hass for $2.00/piece or 3 large pieces for $5 and loose Shepards at $0.99 cents each and a 4 piece prepack for $2.99 - depending upon variety/quality/size. Hass pricing remained steady with a top now of $18/tray and a range of $14 -$18/tray for premium. Shepard’s are only fetching a top of $10.00-$13.00/tray for premiums in the market; with class one Shepards’ back to $6-$9/tray and Bulks $7 to $15 depending upon grade and quality.

The weather in North Qld for our Shepard crop has seen daytime temperatures ranging 17.6 to 31.6C with dry conditions which is great for picking.

Avocado display presentation in Qld stores this week was generally pleasing with pricing being a consistent offer across major supermarkets - the variation this week was noted in the sizing stocked by each banner. Fruit age for Shepards age ranged 13 to 15 days; whilst new season Hass tended to be around 8 days old. Both Woolworths stores and Coles stores are stocking NQ Autumn varieties of Hass as well as the green skin Shepards; with half of the display devoted to each varietal in most cases. Woolworths offer the different varieties at different price points; whilst Coles are offering both varieties at the same price point.

In terms of Avocado retail pricing in Qld shelf prices were as follows: Aldi Qld had Shepard avos selling with a ticket price of $1.19ea; Coles Qld had both NQ Shepards and new season Autumn Hass ticketed at $1.20 ea; and Woolworths Qld had prominently positioned instore displays Shepards at $1.30ea and new season NQ Hass ticketed at $1.50-$1.80ea, depending upon location. The fruit on shelves varied in condition with maturity ranging just yielding to firm. There was a greater proportion of Hass yielding to gentle pressure in comparison with Shepards in general.

RETAIL SNAPSHOTS OF AVOCADOS

Below: Coles Garden City, Mt Gravatt East and Cooparoo Displays

In all of the three stores visited, Coles stores Shepards avocados priced at $1.20ea and Autumn Hass also priced at $1.20 a piece. Fruit was well presented - though there was a presence of lenticel/nodule damage and a little bruising in one store, all 14-19 days old and just yielding to firm with respects to maturity. Growers seen this week were mainly Greenskins, Simpsons, Howe Farming and Delais Orchards.
1kg Im Perfect packs on special this week retailing for $4.90ea. Coles 5pks selling for $3.90ea.

Below: Aldi Garden City, Mt Gravatt East and Cooparoo Displays

Simpson Farms and Greenskin fruit in counts 23/25 loose @ $1.19 each everywhere.
Packed on dates range 25th March through to 4th April, so fruit age range is 9 to 19 days.
6 piece Shepard nets at $4.49 and 1kg packs at $3.79ea! !kg pack on special this week and featured in the Aldi catalogue.

Below: Woolworths Garden City, Mt Gravatt East and Cooparoo Displays

Stores had Purpleskin Hass avocados at $1.50-1.80 each and Greenskin Shepard avocados at $1.30 each. All avocados 9-14 days old - some fruit is yielding to gentle pressure.
5 piece packs at $5.00/ pack and 1kg packs at $5.00ea.

BANANA OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

Last week we saw the total banana industry production lift slightly to 406K cartons, which represented an increase of just over 17K cartons on the week prior. The weather patterns are showing signs of change with slightly cooler mornings and peaks under 32C in the far North this week. Morning temperatures have been be a touch cooler across all NQ regions with early a.m. temps falling within a range of 17.6- to 24.2C; whilst day time temperatures have been similar to last week with a top of just 31.6C -within a range of 29.5 to 31.6C across the week. In terms of rainfall, all major North Qld growing regions were again relatively dry with only the Tully region receiving 12.8mm and Innisfail receiving 21.4mm across the week. Cavendish banana bunch age is still in the vicinity of 14-15 weeks, with fruit quality generally found to be good overall in our packshed though we continue to grade out some light scarring. As we are now in the autumnal season the weather will continue to gradually cool and we will see bunch age increase over the coming weeks and months.

Independent retailers were selling bananas at $1.49 to $2.99/kg this week. The markets all have moderate supplies of cavendish relative to demand with fruit selling at $12-$22 per carton, dependent upon quality and quantity each agent has.

The presentation of Cavendish presented reasonably well. Fruit at the stores visited this week were found to have a presence of minor dry scar; minor neck damage; as well as bronzing; bruising; small rub marks and sap staining. Colour was generally good; definitely more ready to eat fruit now, than eat later options.

Retail ticket pricing in Queensland on bananas with little variance this week in comparison to the week prior and amongst the major supermarkets with Aldi’s banana ticket price at $2.49/kg; whilst both Woolies and Coles offered fruit at $3.00-$3.50/kg depending upon location visited.

RETAIL SNAPSHOT OF BANANAS

Below: Coles Garden City, Mt Gravatt East and Cooparoo Displays

Cavendish was priced at $3.00-3.50/kg. Kids packs also at $2.50-3.00ea.
Quality across stores was quite good though some clusters found with minor skin marking and still a noticeable presence of heat affected fruit. Both minor and major bruising; neck injuriues, rub and general scarring also found.
Lady Fingers were priced at $7.90/kg and Red Tips at $4.90/kg.
Organic Variety present in every store also, priced at $4.90/kg.

Below: Aldi Garden City, Mt Gravatt East and Cooparoo Displays

Stores had Cavendish @ $2.49/kg- there was a common presence of some light bruising/skin marking and neck damage. Two of the three stores visited had several clusters with heavy spotting. Also some very dull clusters on display.
Lady Fingers were priced at $5.99/kg.

Below: Woolworths Garden City, Mt Gravatt East and Cooparoo Displays

Woolworths had Cavendish bananas priced at $3.00-$3.50/kg, Lil Sana kids banded clusters at $2.50. Displays were generally well presented and whilst again some minor neck damage and the impact of heat on fruit can be seen.
Lady fingers were priced at $7.90/kg - some light rub, and just a little maturity bronzing found.
Red tips were priced at $4.90/kg.
Organic Clusters $4.50/kg

April 14, 2022

2022-Week 14

April 14, 2022/ Paul Wilson

QUICKLINKS

Avocado Overview

Banana Overview

AVOCADO OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

In a nutshell the national production figures for last week were as follows:

· Week 13 - 421,626 trays harvested and consigned this week which represents a 12% decrease ( or some 57,563 less cartons) on Week 12 -2022 production – North Qld maintains the lead in production accounting for 63% of this; followed by WA with 22%; then Central Qld at 14.8% and Central NSW with the remaining 0.2%.

· The average industry dispatch per week over the last four week period has been 441,606 trays.

· It is forecast that a total of 363K trays will be despatched this week nationally,

All major supermarkets are selling premium Shepards’ at $1.19 to $1.30ea . Hass, new season NQ fruit, were found at Woolworths stores selling these at $1.80 per piece and Coles for $1.20, though there is a difference in size of fruit; whilst independents were selling class one larger WA fruit/NQ Hass for $2.00/piece or 3 large pieces for $5 and loose Shepards at $0.99 cents each and a 4 piece prepack for $2.99 - depending upon variety/quality/size. Hass pricing did remained steady with a top now of $20/tray and a range of $16 -$20/tray for premium. Shepard’s are still only fetching a top of $10.00-$14.00/tray for premiums in the market; with class one Shepards’ back to $7-$10/tray.

The weather in North Qld for our Shepard crop has seen daytime temperatures ranging 16.2to 33.6C with dry conditions which is great for picking.

Avocado display presentation in Qld stores this week was generally pleasing with pricing being a consistent offer across major supermarkets - the variation this week was noted in the sizing stocked by each banner. All three major supermarkets are now stocking new season Shepards, Fruit age for Shepards age was 13 to 15 days; whilst new season Hass tended to be around 8 days old. A number of Woolworths stores are stocking NQ Hass and new season Shepards; with half of the display devoted to each varietal. Coles likewise are offering both new season Autumn Hass (NQ) and Shepards side by side at the same price.

In terms of Avocado retail pricing in Qld shelf prices were as follows: Aldi Qld had new season Shepard avos selling with a ticket price of $1.19ea; Coles Qld had both NQ Shepards and new season Autumn Hass ticketed at $1.20 ea; and Woolworths Qld had prominently positioned instore displays Shepards at $1.30ea and new season NQ Hass ticketed at $1.80ea. The fruit on shelves varied in condition with maturity ranging just yielding to firm. There was a greater proportion of Hass yielding than the Shepards in general.

RETAIL SNAPSHOTS OF AVOCADOS

Below: Coles Forest Lake, Cooparoo and Mt Ommaney Displays

In all of the three stores visited, Coles stores Shepards avocados priced at $1.20ea. Fruit was well presented, all 8-13 days old and just yielding to firm with respects to maturity.
1kg Im Perfect packs on special this week retailing for $3.99ea. Coles 5pks selling for $5.50ea.

Below: Aldi Forest Lake, Cooparoo, Drewvale and Mt Ommaney Displays

Simpson Farms fruit in counts 23/25 loose @ $1.19 each everywhere.
6 piece Shepard nets at $4.49 and 1kg packs at $3.99ea!

Below: Woolworths Forest Lake, Cooparoo and Mt Ommaney Displays

Stores had Purpleskin Hass avocados at $1.80 each and Greenskin Shepard avocados at $1.30 each. All avocados 8-13 days old - some fruit is yielding to gentle pressure.
Some stores had a guide to selection Shepards, noting that the green colour lasts longer and that there is a dulling of colour as the fruit ripens.
5 piece packs at $5.00/ pack and 1kg packs at $4.00ea.

BANANA OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

Last week we saw the total banana industry production lift slightly to 389K cartons, which represented an increase of just over 9K cartons on the week prior. The weather patterns are showing signs of change with slightly cooler mornings and peaks under 33C in the far North this week. Morning temperatures have been be a touch cooler across all NQ regions with early a.m. temps falling within a range of 16.2- to 22.9C; whilst day time temperatures have been similar to last week with a top of just 33.6C -within a range of 28.7 to 33.6C across the week. In terms of rainfall, all major North Qld growing regions were relatively dry with only the Tully region receiving a light 1.2mm across the week. Cavendish banana bunch age is still in the vicinity of 14-15 weeks, with fruit quality generally found to be good overall in our packshed though we continue to grade out some fruit speckle. As we are now in the autumnal season the weather will continue to gradually cool and we will see bunch age increase over the coming weeks and months.

Independent retailers were selling bananas at $0.99 to $3.00/kg this week. The markets all have moderate supplies of cavendish relative to demand with fruit selling at $12-$22 per carton, dependent upon quality and quantity each agent has.

Retail ticket pricing in Queensland on bananas with little variance this week in comparison to the week prior and amongst the major supermarkets with Aldi’s banana ticket price at $2.49/kg; whilst both Woolies and Coles offered fruit at $2.50/kg at the stores visited.

RETAIL SNAPSHOT OF BANANAS

Below: Coles Forest Lake, Cooparoo and Mt Ommaney Displays

Cavendish was priced at $2.50/kg. Kids packs also at $2.50ea.
Quality across stores was quite good though some clusters found with minor skin marking and still a noticeable presence of heat affected fruit. Both minor and major bruising also found.
Lady Fingers were priced at $7.90/kg and Red Tips at $4.90/kg.

Below: Aldi Forest Lake, Cooparoo, Drewvale and Mt Ommaney Displays

Stores had Cavendish @ $2.49/kg- there was a common presence of some light bruising/skin marking and neck damage.
Lady Fingers were priced at $5.99/kg.

Below: Woolworths Forest Lake, Cooparoo and Mt Ommaney Displays

Woolworths had Cavendish bananas priced at $2.50/kg, Lil Sana kids banded clusters at $2.50. Displays were generally well presented and whilst again some minor neck damage and the impact of heat on fruit can be seen.
Lady fingers were priced at $7.90/kg - some light rub, sooty mould and maturity bronzing found.
Red tips were priced at $4.90/kg.
Organic Clusters $4.50/kg

March 31, 2022

2022-Week 13

March 31, 2022/ Paul Wilson

QUICKLINKS

Avocado Overview

Banana Overview

AVOCADO OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

In a nutshell the national production figures for last week were as follows:

· Week 12 - 479,189 trays harvested and consigned this week which represents an 0.37% decrease ( or some 1,798 less cartons) on Week 11 -2022 production – North Qld maintains the lead in production accounting for 61.5% of this; followed by WA with 21.4%; then Central Qld at 16.8% and Central NSW with the remaining 0.3%.

· The average industry dispatch per week over the last four week period has been 465,813 trays.

· It is forecast that a total of 404K trays will be despatched this week nationally,

All major supermarkets are selling premium Shepards’ at $1.00 to $1.20ea . Hass, new season NQ fruit, were found at Woolworths stores selling these at $1.80 per piece and Coles for $1.20, though there is a difference in size of fruit; whilst independents were selling class one larger WA fruit for $2.00/piece or 3 large pieces for $6 depending upon variety/quality/size. Hass pricing did remained steady with a top now of $20/tray and a range of $16 -$20/tray for premium. The continued supply of WA Hass and now the early season Autumn/Meluma Hass in the supply chains/markets is certainly playing havoc with Shepard sales. We have seen a number of independent retailers who started the NQ season by stocking both Hass and Shepard, now stocking only Hass. Shepard pricing in the market has slipped slightly fetching a top of $10.00-$14.00/tray for premiums in the market; class one Shepards’ back to $7-$10/tray; and bulks sales have been a mixed bag, with a lack of demand seeing bulks being sold for $1 to $12, in some cases cartons have been dumped with no return.

The weather in North Qld for our Shepard crop has seen daytime temperatures ranging 17.9 to 33.5C with rain showers being isolated throughout the week. There continues to be varying levels of rainfall across regions like Mareeba who received a total of 0.8mm across the week and yet other regions receiving 2mm-6mm.

Avocado display presentation in Qld stores this week was generally pleasing with pricing being a consistent offer across major supermarkets - the variation this week was noted in the sizing stocked by each banner. All three major supermarkets are now stocking new season Shepards, Fruit age for Shepards age was 6 to 18 days; whilst new season Hass tended to be around 8 days old. A number of Woolworths stores were continuing to stock both Hass (WA) and new season Shepards; with half of the display devoted to each varietal. Coles this week were also found to be stocking new season Autumn Hass.

In terms of Avocado retail pricing in Qld shelf prices were as follows: Aldi Qld had new season Shepard avos selling with a ticket price of $1.19ea; Coles Qld had both NQ Shepards and new season Autumn Hass ticketed at $1.20 ea; and Woolworths Qld had prominently positioned instore displays Shepards at $1.00 to $1.20ea and new season NQ Hass ticketed at $1.80ea. The fruit on shelves varied in condition with maturity ranging just yielding to firm.

Above: Featured in the Coles magazine this week, a glorious 5 page spread of recipes and food photography featuring the Avocado!

RETAIL SNAPSHOTS OF AVOCADOS

Below: Coles Garden City, Carindale and Browns Plains Displays

In all of the three stores visited, Coles stores Shepards avocados priced at $1.20ea. Fruit was well presented, all packed between 17th-22nd March so between 8-13 days old and just yielding to firm with respects to maturity.
1kg Im Perfect packs on special this week retailing for $4.90ea. Coles 5pks selling for $5.50ea.

Below: Aldi Garden City, Carindale and Browns Plains Displays

Simpson Farms fruit in counts 23/25 loose @ $1.19 each everywhere. Most stock packed 24th March therefore fruit age is 6 days old.
6 piece Shepard nets at $5.49.

Below: Woolworths Garden City, Carindale and Browns Plains Displays

Stores had Purpleskin Hass avocados at $1.50-1.80 each and Greenskin Shepard avocados at $1.00-1.30 each. All avocados packed 17th-22nd so fruit age is 8-13 days - some fruit is yielding to gentle pressure.
Some stores had a guide to selection Shepards, noting that the green colour lasts longer and that there is a dulling of colour as the fruit ripens.
5 piece packs at $5.00/ pack and 1kg packs at $4.00ea.

BANANA OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

Last week we saw the total banana industry production drop to 379K cartons, which represented a decline of just over 100K cartons on the week prior. The weather patterns are showing signs of change with slightly cooler mornings and peaks under 35C in the far North this week. Morning temperatures have been be a touch cooler across all NQ regions with early a.m. temps falling within a range of 17.9- to 23.1C; whilst day time temperatures have been similar to last week with a top of just 34C -within a range of 27.8 to 34C across the week. In terms of rainfall, all major North Qld growing regions experienced much lighter falls with Mareeba recording just 0.8m; Walkamin receiving 0.5mm; whilst both Innisfail and Tully receiving around 15mm across the week each. Cavendish banana bunch age is still in the vicinity of 14-15 weeks, with fruit quality generally found to be good overall in our packshed though we have been grading out some fruit speckle. As we are now in the autumnal season the weather will continue to gradually cool and we will see bunch age increase over the coming weeks and months.

Independent retailers were selling bananas at $1.50 to $2.49/kg this week. The markets all have moderate supplies of cavendish relative to demand with fruit selling at $16-$26 per carton, dependent upon quality and quantity each agent has.

The presentation of Cavendish presented reasonably well though there has still been a lower level presence of heat stressed fruit on a number of shelves. Fruit at the stores visited this week were found to have a presence of minor dry scar; minor neck damage; as well as bronzing; bruising; small rub marks and sap staining. Colour was generally good; definitely more ready to eat fruit now, than eat later options.

Retail ticket pricing in Queensland on bananas with little variance this week in comparison to the week prior and amongst the major supermarkets with Aldi’s banana ticket price at $2.49/kg; whilst both Woolies and Coles offered fruit at $2.50/kg at the stores visited.

RETAIL SNAPSHOT OF BANANAS

Below: Coles Garden City, Carindale and Browns Plains Displays

Cavendish was priced at $2.50/kg. Kids packs also at $2.50ea.
Quality across stores was quite good though some clusters found with minor skin marking and still a noticeable presence of heat affected fruit. Both minor and major bruising also found.
Lady Fingers were priced at $7.90/kg and Red Tips at $4.90/kg.

Below: Aldi Garden City, Carindale and Browns Plains Displays

Stores had Cavendish @ $2.49/kg- there was a common presence of some light bruising/skin marking and neck damage.
Lady Fingers were priced at $5.99/kg.

Below: Woolworths Garden City, Carindale and Browns Plains Displays

Woolworths had Cavendish bananas priced at $2.50/kg, Lil Sana kids banded clusters at $2.50. Displays were generally well presented and whilst again some minor neck damage and the impact of heat on fruit can be seen.
Lady fingers were priced at $7.90/kg - some light rub, sooty mould and maturity bronzing found.
Red tips were priced at $4.50/kg.
Organic Clusters $4.50/kg

March 25, 2022

2022-Week 12

March 25, 2022/ Paul Wilson

QUICKLINKS

Avocado Overview

Banana Overview

AVOCADO OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

In a nutshell the national production figures for last week were as follows:

· Week 11 - 480,987 trays harvested and consigned this week which represents a 4% increase ( or some 18,642 more trays) on Week 10-2022 production – North Qld maintains the lead in production accounting for 61.2% of this; followed by WA with 25.8%; then Central Qld at 12.8% and Central NSW with the remaining 0.2%.

· The average industry dispatch per week over the last four week period has been 453,487 trays.

· It is forecast that a total of 427K trays will be despatched this week nationally with approximately 73% of these expected to be new season Shepards.

All major supermarkets are selling premium Shepards’ at $1.19 to $1.20ea . Hass, new season NQ fruit, were only found at Woolworths stores selling these at $1.50 per piece, whilst independents were selling class one fruit for $2.00/piece or 2 or 3 large pieces for $6 depending upon variety/quality/size. Hass pricing did come back a little with a top now of $20/tray and a range of $16 -$20/tray for premium. Shepard’s are still only fetching a top of $15.00/tray for premiums in the market; with class one Shepards’ back to $8-$10/tray.

The weather in North Qld for our Shepard crop has seen daytime temperatures ranging 19 to 30C with rain showers being scattered throughout the week. There continues to be varying levels of rainfall across regions like Mareeba who received a total of 20mm across the week and yet other regions receiving 24mm-40mm - with this in mind, we structure our harvesting programme on our farms to suit the prevailing weather conditions ie if it has been raining overnight, we don’t commence picking until mid-morning to allow the fruit time to dry off all in an effort to reduce the likelihood of lenticel damage; on days with heavier falls we do not pick at all.

Avocado display presentation in Qld stores this week was generally pleasing with pricing being a consistent offer across major supermarkets - the variation this week was noted in the sizing stocked by each banner. All three major supermarkets are now stocking new season Shepards, Fruit age for WA Hass was found to be in the vicinity of 16 days - whilst Shepards age was 7 to 13 days. A number of Woolworths stores were continuing to stock both Hass (WA) and new season Shepards; with half of the display devoted to each varietal.

In terms of Avocado retail pricing in Qld shelf prices were as follows: Aldi Qld had new season Shepard avos selling with a ticket price of $1.19ea; Coles Qld had Shepards ticketed at $1.20 ea; and Woolworths Qld had prominently positioned instore displays Shepards at $1.20 and new season NQ Hass ticketed at $1.50ea. The fruit on shelves varied in condition with maturity ranging just yielding to firm. ·

Above: Featured in the Coles magazine this week, a glorious 5 page spread of recipes and food photography featuring the Avocado!

RETAIL SNAPSHOTS OF AVOCADOS

Below: Coles Loganholme, Springwood and Indooroopilly Displays

In all of the three stores visited, Coles stores had Greenskins/Zebra Avos(Murray Bros)/Howe Farming (Aust Produce Partners)/Ferraro (Freshmax)/Dorian (Majestic Fruit Co) and Kureen Farming and Rockridge Shepards avocados priced at $1.20ea. Fruit was well presented, all packed between 8-11th March so between 12-15 days old and just yielding to firm with respects to maturity. Odd lenticel and rub markings detected on a couple of lines.
1kg Im Perfect packs on special this week retailing for $3.90ea. Coles 5pks selling for $5.50ea.

Below: Aldi Loganholme, Springwood and Indooroopilly Displays

Greenskin Shepards/Simpson Farms/Delais Orchards fruit in counts 23/25 loose @ $1.19 each everywhere. Most stock packed 10-15th March therefore fruit age is 8-13 days old. Some lenticel damage on Greenskin fruit observed.
6 piece Shepard nets at $5.49.

Below: Woolworths Loganholme, Chatswood and Indooroopilly Displays

Stores had Purpleskin Hass avocados at $1.50 each and Greenskin/Leadwood/Nature’s Fruit Company Shepard avocados at $1.20 each. Shepards packed 10-11th so fruit age is 12-13 days - some fruit is yielding to gentle pressure; Hass packed 16th March so 7 days old and very firm.
A low level presence of a little lenticel damage, skin scarring, one rot oberved.
Some stores had a guide to selection Shepards, noting that the green colour lasts longer and that there is a dulling of colour as the fruit ripens.
5 piece packs at $5.50/ pack and 1kg packs at $5.50ea.

BANANA OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

Last week the total banana industry production was in the vicinity of 470K cartons. The weather patterns of heat and sunshine have definitely continued but so has the rain in the far North this week. Morning temperatures have continued to be a touch cooler across all NQ regions with early a.m. temps falling within a range of 18.6- to 23.8C; whilst day time temperatures have definitely been a little milder with a top of just 30.8C -within a range of 26.2 to 30.8C across the week. In terms of rainfall, all major North Qld growing regions experienced varying falls with Mareeba recording a total fall of 20mm; Walkamin receiving 24mm; whilst both Innisfail and Tully had much heavier total falls of 262mm and 282mm respectively across the week. Cavendish banana bunch age is still in the vicinity of 14-15 weeks, with fruit quality generally found to be good overall in our packshed. As we are now in the autumnal season the weather will continue to gradually cool and we will see bunch age increase over the coming weeks and months.

Independent retailers were selling bananas at $0.99 to $2.29/kg this week. The markets all have moderate supplies of cavendish relative to demand with fruit selling at $14-$24 per carton, dependent upon quality and quantity each agent has.

Retail ticket pricing in Queensland on bananas with little variance this week in comparison to the week prior and amongst the major supermarkets with Aldi’s banana ticket price at $1.99/kg; whilst both Woolies and Coles offered fruit at $2.00 to $2.50/kg at the stores visited.

RETAIL SNAPSHOT OF BANANAS

Below: Coles Loganholme, Springwood and Indooroopilly Displays

Cavendish was priced at $2.50/kg. Kids packs also at $2.50ea.
Quality across stores was quite good though some clusters found with minor skin marking and still a noticeable presence of heat affected fruit. Both minor and major bruising also found. Organic variety priced at $4.00/kg.
Lady Fingers were priced at $7.90/kg and Red Tips at $4.90/kg.

Below: Aldi Loganholme, Springwood and Indooroopilly Displays

Stores had Cavendish @ $1.99/kg- there was a common presence of some light bruising/skin marking and neck damage. Some heat stressed fruit at one store.
Lady Fingers were priced at $5.99/kg.

Below: Woolworths Loganholme, Chatswood and Indooroopilly Displays

Woolworths had Cavendish bananas priced at $2.00-$3.00/kg, Lil Sana kids banded clusters at $2.50. Displays were generally well presented and whilst again some minor neck damage and the impact of heat on fruit can be seen.
Lady fingers were priced at $7.90/kg - some light rub, sooty mould and maturity bronzing found.
Red tips were priced at $4.50/kg.
Organic Clusters $5.50/kg

March 17, 2022

2022-Week 11

March 17, 2022/ Paul Wilson

QUICKLINKS

Avocado Overview

Banana Overview

AVOCADO OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

In a nutshell the national production figures for last week were as follows:

· Week 10 - 462,345 trays harvested and consigned this week which represents a 5% increase ( or some 21,615 more trays) on Week 9-2022 production – North Qld has now surpassed WA in terms of production accounting for 66% of this; followed by WA with 31% (143K). The remaining 3% came from Central Qld, Tristate and Central NSW.

· The average industry dispatch per week over the last four week period has been 462,692 trays.

· It is forecast that a total of 426K trays will be despatched this week nationally with approximately 77% of these expected to be new season Shepards.

All major supermarkets are selling premium Shepards’ at $1.19 to $1.50ea . Hass were only found at Woolworths stores selling at $1.50 per piece, whilst independents were selling class one fruit for $2.00/piece or 2 or 3 large pieces for $6 depending upon variety/quality/size. There has been a slight easing of volumes in the southern markets but not much change to pricing post the impact of the floods. Hass pricing did come back a little with a top now of $20/tray and a range of $16 -$20/tray for premium. Shepard’s are still only fetching a top of $15.00/tray for premiums in the market; with class one Shepards’ back to $9-$13/tray.

The weather in North Qld for our Shepard crop has seen daytime temperatures ranging 24.5 to 34C with rainfall being more prevalent since the weekend. There continues to be some rainfall with regions like Mareeba receiving a total of 40mm across the week and yet other regions have only received 42mm-91mm - with this in mind, we structure our harvesting on our farms to suit the prevailing weather conditions ie if it has been raining overnight, we don’t commence picking until mid-morning to allow the fruit time to dry off all in an effort to reduce the likelihood of lenticel damage; heavier days we have not picked at all – it becomes a juggling act that we try to manage the best we can with prevailing conditions.

Avocado display presentation in Qld stores this week was generally pleasing with pricing being one of the main variables in the major supermarkets offering based upon store location; sizing stocked and banner. All three major supermarkets are now stocking new season Shepards, Fruit age for WA Hass was found to be in the vicinity of 16 days - whilst Shepards age was 7 to 13 days. A number of Woolworths stores were continuing to stock both Hass (WA) and new season Shepards; with half of the display devoted to each varietal.

In terms of Avocado retail pricing in Qld shelf prices were as follows: Aldi Qld had new season Shepard avos selling with a ticket price of $1.19ea; Coles Qld had Shepards ticketed at $1.20 ea; and Woolworths Qld had prominently positioned instore displays Shepards at $1.30 to $150ea which tended to be fruit of larger size. The fruit on shelves varied in condition with maturity ranging just yielding to firm. Notable rots found amongst the Greenskin Shepards on display at one Woolworths store in particular.

RETAIL SNAPSHOTS OF AVOCADOS

Below: Coles Indooroopilly, Sunnybank Hills and Garden City Displays

In all of the three stores visited, Coles stores had Rockridge Shepards avocados priced at $1.20ea. Fruit presented beautifully and quality was top notch.

Below: Aldi Indooroopilly, Sunnybank Hills and Garden City Displays

Greenskin Shepards in count 23/25 loose @ $1.19 each everywhere. Most stock packed 8th March therefore fruit age is 8 days.
6 piece Shepard nets at $4.99.

Below: Woolworths Indooroopilly, Sunnybank Hills and Garden City Displays

Stores had The Avocado Collective WA Hass avocados at $1.20-$1.50 each and Greenskin Shepard avocados (rots were quite prolific in two of the three displays) at $1.20-$1.50 each. Indooroopilly also had Purpleskin Hass Ct 16 as a floor display next to the A frame display also priced at $1.50 ea.
5 piece packs at $5.50/ pack and 1kg packs at $5.50ea (some of this with major product defects and breakdown).

BANANA OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

In the aftermath of the flooding in the South East corner of Qld there is still a lot of work being done within the market precinct. The majority of sites have removed and dumped flood affected produce and equipment/furniture; sites have been cleaned and sanitised; pest prevention programmes/treatments are being completed; dock levellers are being repaired/replaced etc. Power is gradually being restored to various sites across the markets, and in some instances having to be re-energised again as a result of further faults being found in the lines. Our office is located in the commercial centre at the front of the markets – the switchboard has been destroyed by the floods and so we are still waiting for this to be repaired and for power to be restored – hoping by Friday. Considering everything, it has been a remarkable effort by all parties to clean and restore so much of the Brisbane Market operation back to a position that full trading has been possible in a relatively short period of time.

Last week the total banana industry production was in the vicinity of 476K cartons which included a resumption of supply to the Brisbane market in the mix. The weather patterns of heat and sunshine have definitely continued but from Sunday on, the rain has returned in the far North this week. Morning temperatures have continued to be a touch cooler across all NQ regions with early a.m. temps falling within a range of 20- to 24.8C; whilst day time temperatures have also been a little milder with a top of 34.8C within a range of 24.5 to 34.8C. In terms of rainfall, up to Friday, all major North Qld growing regions were relatively dry, however things changed on the weekend with Mareeba recording a total fall of 40mm; Walkamin receiving 42mm; whilst both Innisfail and Tully had much heavier total falls of 217mm and 197mm respectively from Sunday on. Cavendish banana bunch age is now at 14-15 weeks, with fruit quality generally found to be good overall in the packshed.

Independent retailers were selling bananas at $1.99 to $3.29/kg this week. The markets all have moderate supplies of cavendish relative to demand with fruit selling at $14-$26 per carton, dependent upon quality and quantity each agent has.

Cavendish in general this week presented better than the week prior. Still a presence of heat stressed fruit on a number of shelves. Fruit at the stores visited this week were found to have a presence of low level minor dry scar; minor neck damage was prevalent; as well as bronzing; bruising; small rub marks and sap staining. Colour was generally good; definitely more ready to eat fruit now, than eat later options.

Retail ticket pricing in Queensland on bananas with little variance this week in comparison to the week prior and amongst the major supermarkets with Aldi’s banana ticket price at $2.99/kg; whilst both Woolies and Coles offered fruit at $3.00/kg at the stores visited.

RETAIL SNAPSHOT OF BANANAS

Below: Coles Indooroopilly, Sunnybank Hills and Garden City Displays

Cavendish was priced at $3.00/kg.
Quality across stores was quite good though some clusters found with minor skin marking and still a noticeable presence of heat affected fruit.
Lady Fingers were priced at $7.90/kg and Red Tips at $4.90/kg.

Below: Aldi Indooroopilly, Sunnybank Hills and Garden City Displays

Stores had Cavendish @ $2.99/kg- there was a common presence of some light bruising/skin marking and neck damage. Some heat stressed fruit at one store.
Lady Fingers were priced at $5.99/kg.

Below: Woolworths Indooroopilly, Sunnybank Hills and Garden City Displays

Woolworths had Cavendish bananas priced at $3.00/kg, Lil Sana kids banded clusters at $2.50. Displays were generally well presented and whilst again some minor neck damage and the impact of heat on fruit can be seen.
Lady fingers were priced at $7.90/kg - some light rub, sooty mould and maturity bronzing found.
Red tips were priced at $4.50/kg.
Organic Clusters $5.50/kg

March 11, 2022

2022-Week 10

March 11, 2022/ Paul Wilson

QUICKLINKS

Avocado Overview

Banana Overview

AVOCADO OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

Whilst the mammoth task of clean up post the flooding in the South East corner of Qld and Northern NSW is well underway it by no means complete. A number of the Brisbane Market wholesalers have managed to re-open for trade, even if it is in a restricted version, since Monday 7th March; however many are operating in recovery mode with further tasks involving cleaning, sanitising, having power restored, equipment cleaned, serviced and or replaced being undertaken; and as such it will be a few weeks until things are truly back to normal.

In a nutshell the national production figures for last week were as follows:

Week 9 - 440,730 trays harvested and consigned this week which represents a 3% increase ( or some 10,843 more trays) on Week 8 2022 production - WA production still narrowly accounted for the majority at 47.2% of this; followed by North Qld with new season Shepards accounting for 47.02% (161K). The remaining 6% came from Central Qld and NZ.
The average industry dispatch per week over the last four week period has been 470,690 trays.
It is forecast that a total of 416K trays will be despatched this week nationally with approximately 63.8% of these being new season Shepards.
All major supermarkets are selling premium Shepards’ at $1.19 to $1.50ea - though Coles were offering a multibuy deal of 2 for $2.00. Hass were only found at Woolworths stores selling at $1.80 per piece, whilst independents were selling class one fruit for $1.50-$2.00/piece or 2 or 3 large pieces for $5 depending upon variety/quality/size. Whilst the Brisbane markets are still getting back on their feet, the southern markets are struggling with the volume of fruit that have been directed their way as a result of the floods and as such the pricing has fallen on Shepard’s in particular. Hass pricing continues to be in the range of $18 -$22/tray for premium but this is not expected to hold. Shepard’s are fetching a top of $15.00/tray for premiums; with class one Shepards’ back to $9-$13/tray and we are waiting on new pricing for market bulks.
The weather in North Qld for our Shepard crop has been hot and humid with scattered showers in most growing regions. Day time maximums of up to 36C has not been uncommon, whilst overnight the temperature has dropped to 20 to 25C which is still quite balmy. There continues to be some rainfall with regions like Mareeba receiving a total of 43mm across the week and yet other regions have only received 5-10mm - with this in mind, we structure our harvesting on our farms to suit the prevailing weather conditions ie if it has been raining overnight, we don’t commence picking until mid-morning to allow the fruit time to dry off all in an effort to reduce the likelihood of lenticel damage.
Avocado display presentation in Qld stores this week was pleasing as it was more a sea of green - Shepard green that is. All three major supermarkets are now stocking new season Shepards, Pricing was definitely one of the main variables in the major supermarkets offering based upon store location; sizing stocked and banner. Fruit age for WA Hass was found to be in the vicinity of 16 days - whilst Shepards age was 7 to 13 days. A number of Woolworths stores were continuing to stock both Hass (WA) and new season Shepards; with half of the display devoted to each varietal.
In terms of Avocado retail pricing in Qld shelf prices were as follows: Aldi Qld had new season Shepard avos selling with a ticket price of $1.19ea; Coles Qld had Shepards ticketed at $1.30 ea or a multibuy deal of 2/$2.00; and Woolworths Qld had prominently positioned instore displays Shepards at $1.50ea which tended to be fruit of larger size. The fruit on shelves varied in condition with maturity ranging just yielding to firm.

RETAIL SNAPSHOTS OF AVOCADOS

Below: Coles Fairfield, Sunnybank Hills and Cannon Hill Displays

In two of the three stores visited, Coles stores had Rockridge Shepards avocados priced at $1.30ea or 2 for $2.00. Fruit packed 1st March to age up to 9 days. Fruit presented beautifully.

Below: Aldi Fairfield, Sunnybank Hills and Cannon Hill Displays

Shepards featured in the Aldi Catalogue this week.
Greenskin Shepards loose @ $1.19 each everywhere. Fruit age 18 days.
6 piece Shepard nets at $4.99.

Below: Woolworths Fairfield, Sunnybank Hills and Cannon Hill Displays

Stores had The Avocado Collective WA Count 18/20 Hass avocados at $1.80 each and Greenskin or Cobra Hill Count 20/23 Shepard avocados at $1.50 each, one store had Shepard variety at $1.20 with very minimal stock.
Greenskin Shepards found with rots.
5 piece packs at $5.50/ pack and 1kg packs at $5.50ea (some of this with major product defects and breakdown).

BANANA OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

Whilst the mammoth task of clean up post the flooding in the South East corner of Qld and Northern NSW is well underway it by no means complete. A number of the Brisbane Market wholesalers have managed to re-open for trade, even if it is in a restricted version, since Monday 7th March; however many are operating in recovery mode with further tasks involving cleaning, sanitising, having power restored, equipment cleaned, serviced and or replaced be undertaken; and as such it will be a few weeks until things are truly back to normal.

Last week the total banana industry production was in the vicinity of 420K cartons and as a result of the recent floods in Brisbane, road closures and market agents busy with clean up, a higher percentage of the fruit was directed to southern markets as was the case with many other commodities. The weather patterns of heat and sunshine have definitely continued but the rain has slowed somewhat in the far North this week. Morning temperatures have continued to be rather balmy across all NQ regions with early a.m. temps falling within a range of 21 to 25.8C; whilst day time temperatures have been hot and humid with a top of 36C within a range of 33 to 36.1C. In terms of rainfall, up to Wednesday, all major North Qld growing regions received only scattered showers, if any, with Walkamin receiving the most rain with 9mm recorded; Mareeba receiving 1.2mm; whilst both Innisfail and Tully surprisingly had no rain at all last week. Cavendish banana bunch age is now at 14-15 weeks, with fruit quality generally found to be good overall in the packshed.

Independent retailers were selling bananas at $2.99 to $3.49/kg this week. The markets all have moderate supplies of cavendish relative to demand with fruit selling at $14-$26 per carton, dependent upon quality and quantity each agent has.

Cavendish in general this week presented rather poorly. Again there was a stronger presence of heat stress fruit on a number of shelves. Fruit at the stores visited this week were found to have a presence of low level minor dry scar; minor neck damage was prevalent; as well as bronzing; bruising; small rub marks and sap staining. Colour was generally mixed as a number of displays were marred by heat stress; definitely more ready to eat fruit now, before we have to throw it in the bin.

Retail ticket pricing in Queensland on bananas with little variance this week in comparison to the week prior and amongst the major supermarkets with Aldi’s banana ticket price at $3.49/kg; Woolies offered fruit at $3.50/kg - though Coles were offering fruit at $3.00/kg at the stores visited.

RETAIL SNAPSHOT OF BANANAS

Below: Coles Fairfield, Sunnybank Hills and Cannon Hill Displays

Cavendish was priced at $3.00/kg.
Quality across stores was quite good though some clusters found with minor skin marking and still a noticeable presence of heat affected fruit.
Lady Fingers were priced at $7.90/kg and Red Tips at $4.90/kg.

Below: Aldi Fairfield, Sunnybank Hills and Cannon Hill Displays

Stores had Cavendish @ $3.49/kg- whilst there was definitely the a common presence of some light bruising/skin marking and neck damage - the first stores offering (first five images below) should have been put in the bin.
Lady Fingers were priced at $5.99/kg - some bronzing amongst most lines.

Below: Woolworths Fairfield, Sunnybank Hills and Cannon Hill Displays

Woolworths had Cavendish bananas priced at $3.50/kg, Lil Sana kids banded clusters at $2.50. Displays were generally well presented and whilst again some minor neck damage and the impact of heat on fruit can be seen, the displays and quality of fruit was best on show this week.
Lady fingers were priced at $7.90/kg - some light rub and maturity bronzing found.
Red tips were priced at $4.50/kg.
Organic Clusters $5.50/kg

March 11, 2022

2022-Week 9

March 11, 2022/ Paul Wilson

QUICKLINKS

Avocado Overview

Banana Overview

The Brisbane Markets are under water with major flooding….

27th February 2022

The Aftermath… 1,500 tonnes of produce waste need to be cleared and all hands are needed on deck to clean up….

2nd March 2022

The heavens opened and it just kept coming…… persistent rain of moderate to heavy falls, day and night, across 4 days saw storm water drains fill quickly, the river and creeks swell and before we knew it, brown waters were covering our roadways and rising. Despite this flood not being of quite the same level as the 2011 Flood, (approximately 1 metre lower than 2011) the volume of water that rained down across a relatively short window ensured water moved with pace and seemed to cause more damage. Whilst roadways were starting to close on the evening of Friday 25th February; a flood watch was issued on 26th February and it was declared on the morning of Sunday 27th February that all access points into the markets were unavailable due to the water levels continuing to rise and by later that same day, it was deemed the markets were closed. Flood waters started to slowly recede Monday 28th February and by 3pm Tuesday 1st March the BML were allowing tenants access to the markets for a review of the damage and to commence the mammoth task of cleaning up so that the vital heart of Queensland’s fresh Fruit and Vegetable supply, could again start pumping.

AVOCADO OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

In a nutshell the national production figures for last week were as follows:

Week 8 - 429,887 trays harvested and consigned this week which represents a significant 16% decrease ( or some 84,590 fewer trays) on Week 7 2022 production - WA production still accounted for the majority at 62% of this; followed by North Qld with new season Shepards accounting for 33% (154K) and Central Qld at 2%. The remaining 3% came from NZ, Central NSW and Tristate.
The average industry dispatch per week over the last four week period has been 489,076 trays.
It is forecast that a total of 424K trays will be despatched this week nationally with approximately 43.8% of these being new season Shepards.
All major supermarkets are selling premium Hass at $1.19- $1.50 per piece, whilst independents were selling class one fruit for $1.50-$2.00/piece or 2 or 3 large pieces for $5 depending upon variety/quality/size. Shepards were selling at $1.19 to $1.50ea. Sadly there were a few Shepards seen in store with stings and developing body rots. Within the markets at the start of the week we were seeing good volumes of Hass/Shepards with pricing continuing to be in the range of $18 -$22/tray for premium fruit depending upon size and quality of each line; whereas premium NZ fruit is fetching $16-$18. Pricing for class one fruit has remained stable (main sales) is ranging $10 -$16per tray; whilst the bulk market has been experiencing prices for premium in the range of $8 to $16 (2nds) --$18-$26/ctn for premium bulks depending upon grade, quality and count size. However by the end of the week with the Brisbane Markets closed to receivals from 26th February due to impending flooding, a number of parties elected to divert their stock to southern markets which have in effect created a flood of another type. Some agents in both the Sydney and Melbourne markets have more avocados than they need and as such the pricing has come back to a top of $15.00/tray for premium Shepards; with class one Shepards back to $9-$13/tray and we are waiting on new pricing for market bulks.
The weather in North Qld for our Shepard crop has been hot and humid with scattered showers in most growing regions. Day time maximums of up to 36C has not been uncommon, whilst overnight the temperature has dropped to 20 to 25C which is still quite balmy. There continues to be some rainfall with regions like Mareeba receiving a total of 43mm across the week and yet other regions only receiving 5-10mm - as such we structure our harvesting on farms that are dry and if it has been raining overnight, we don’t commence picking until mid-morning to allow the fruit time to dry off all in an effort to reduce the likelihood of lenticel damage.
Avocado display presentation in Qld stores this week was generally pleasing with pricing being one of the main variables in the major supermarkets offering based upon store location; sizing stocked and banner. Both Aldi and Woolworths stores this week were now stocking Shepards but also a few WA/NZ Hass still on offer. Coles stocking NZ hass in stores visited. Fruit age in all stores for Hass was found to be ranging 26 to 29 days - whilst Shepards age was 7 to 9 days. A number of Woolworths stores were found to be stocking both Hass (NZ and WA) and new season Shepards; with half of the display devoted to each varietal all week.
In terms of Hass retail pricing in Qld shelf prices were as follows: Aldi Qld NZ Hass and new season Shepard avos selling with a ticket price of $1.19ea; Coles Qld had NZ Hass ticketed at $1.20 ea; and Woolworths Qld had prominently positioned instore displays of Hass (large sizes) ticketed at $1.50 and Shepards also at $1.50ea depending upon fruit size and store location. The fruit on shelves varied in condition with maturity ranging just yielding to firm.

RETAIL SNAPSHOTS OF AVOCADOS

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

Coles stores had Skylark Hass avocados priced at $1.20ea. Primarily all NZ stock Fruit age up to 30 days.
Stores had 5 piece packs at $5.50ea - these too were filled with fruit of NZ origin.
One Coles store had absolutely no stock of avocados.

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

NZ Hass loose @ $1.19 each everywhere. Fruit age 10 days.
6 piece Hass nets filled with NZ fruit at $5.99.

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

Stores had The Avocado Collective WA Count 18/20 Hass avocados at $1.50 each and Greenskin Count 20/23 Shepard avocados also at $1.50 each.
5 piece packs on special at $4.50/ pack and 1kg packs at $5.50ea.

INDEPENDENT STORE - MT OMMANEY

Hass Avocados at 3 for $6.00 and offering Shepards 3 for $3.49 in a pack.

BANANA OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

Despite what was taking place in the south east corner of the state, our crops continue to grow and need be harvested in the far north. Last week the total industry production was just shy of 442K cartons which is some 10,927 cartons less than the previous week. The weather patterns of heat, sunshine and plentiful rain have again been a constant this week in far north Queensland. Morning temperatures have continued to be rather balmy across all NQ regions with early a.m. temps falling within a range of 19.5 to 25.3C; whilst day time temperatures have been hot and humid with a top of 36.1C within a range of 29.5 to 36.1C. In terms of rainfall up to Wednesday all major North Qld growing regions received moderate falls with Walkamin receiving the most rain with some 69.4mm; Mareeba receiving 43mm; Innisfail receiving 6mm; and Tully just 0.2mm falling across the week. Cavendish banana bunch age is now at 14-15 weeks, with fruit quality generally found to be good overall in the packshed. With the warm days coupled with the rainfall this will continue to promote hastened fruit growth so it is important for all farms to stay on top of girth measurements to ensure overall fruit length and girth is not exceeding specification.

Cavendish in general this week presented reasonably well. Again there was a presence of heat stress fruit on a number of shelves. Fruit at the stores visited this week were found to have a presence of low level minor dry scar; minor neck damage; bronzing; bruising; small rub marks and sap staining. Colour was generally good but marred by heat stress in some instances, with more plentiful supplies of fruit that was ready to eat.

Retail ticket pricing in Queensland on bananas with little variance this week amongst the major supermarkets with Aldi’s banana ticket price at $3.49/kg; Woolies offered fruit at $3.50/kg and Coles also offered fruit at $3.50/kg.

RETAIL SNAPSHOT OF BANANAS

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

Cavendish was priced at $3.50/kg.
Quality across stores was quite good though some clusters found with minor skin marking.
Lady Fingers were priced at $7.90/kg and Red Tips at $4.90/kg.

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

Stores had Cavendish @ $3.49/kg- some light bruising/skin marking.
Lady Fingers were priced at $5.99/kg - all in hands that customers had to pull apart.

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

Woolworths had Cavendish bananas priced at $1.00-$3.50/kg, Lil Sana kids banded clusters at $2.50. Displays were generally well presented.
Lady fingers were priced at $7.90/kg - light rub and maturity bronzing found.
Red tips were priced at $4.50/kg.

INDEPENDENT STORE - MT OMMANEY

Cavendish Bananas at $2.99/kg
Lady Fingers priced at $6.99/kg

February 25, 2022

2022-Week 8

February 25, 2022/ Paul Wilson

QUICKLINKS

Avocado Overview

Banana Overview

AVOCADO OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

In a nutshell the national production figures for last week were as follows:

Week 7 - 517,807 trays harvested and consigned this week which represents a 5% increase ( or some 23,473 additional trays) on Week 6 2022 production - WA production accounted for 64% of this; NZ contributed 18% (again shipping delays have impacted this proportional supply); 15% from NQ (new season Shepards equating to a little over 131K trays) and the remaining 3% came from Central NSW and Tristate.
The average industry dispatch per week over the last four week period has been 535,656 trays, which if continued will see the industry fall short by approximately 200K trays for the season’s original forecast.
It is forecast that a total of 534K trays will be despatched this week nationally with approximately 32% of these being new season Shepards.

All major supermarkets are selling premium Hass at $1.19- $1.80 per piece, whilst independents were selling class one fruit also for $1.50-$2.00/piece or 2 or 3 large pieces for $5 depending upon quality/size. It should be noted that Woolworths stores visited were also stocking Shepards as well which were selling at $1.50ea whilst larger Hass (both NZ and WA) were selling at $1.80ea. Sadly there were a number of Shepards seen in store with stings and developing body rots. Within the markets we are still seeing good volumes of Hass with pricing continuing to be in the range of $18 -$24/tray for premium fruit depending upon size and quality of each line; whereas premium NZ fruit is fetching $16-$20. Pricing for class one fruit has remained stable (main sales) is ranging $10 -$16per tray; whilst the bulk market has been experiencing prices for premium in the range of $10 to $16 (2nds) --$18-$26/ctn for premium bulks depending upon grade, quality and count size. The markets are receiving North Qld Shepards with some farms electing to commence spot picking their larger Shepards ; supplies on the market are of mixed quality this week with a presence of a couple of lines that are immature; there were also some lines with a number of stings and developing rots. Demand for Shepards is slowly attracting attention, with a number of independents now stocking both Hass and Shepard alongside each other in their stores. There have been some large intakes of Shepards into all major markets which is forcing pricing down as they are slow to move and agents are are in the process of clearing. Please see pricing quoted this week in the below table for Shepards.

With the primary production state continuing to be Western Australian it is pertinent to consider the weather in this region. The weather in Manjimup has seen early somewhat milder morning minimum temps ranging 11.6 to 16.2C and daytime maximum temps of 20.4 to 35.4C. The available meteorological data for the Pemberton region shows milder early mornings temps of 11.2-13.7C; unfortunately there were no recordings for day time temperatures in this region this week though there was 1 mm of rain recorded since the previous Wednesday. Our hass supply from WA have drawn the curtain on their season - not due to the cessation of fruit but rather an end to their availability of labour. The quality throughout the period has been excellent with just the last week or two marred by the presence of some nodule damage/lenticel which we believe to be attributable to the extreme heat. Our focus will now turn to our North Qld Shepard crop which is promising to be a good season…. though Mother Nature is threatening with the forecast of some wet weather over the next couple of weeks which may slow the harvest.

Avocado display presentation in Qld stores this week was generally pleasing with pricing being one of the main variables in the major supermarkets offering based upon store location; sizing stocked and banner. The majority of stores this week were still stocking NZ Hass, with fruit age in all stores was found to be ranging 20 to 26 days. A number of Woolworths stores were found to be stocking both Hass (NZ and WA) and new season Shepards; with half of the display devoted to each varietal. At Carindale, the Shepards were positioned on the rear of the A Frame display - count 20’s selling for $1.50ea whilst the front display of Hass count 16/18’s were selling at $1.80ea. A number of the Greenskin Shepards had stings and there were also a number of body rots found throughout the display.

In terms of Hass retail pricing in Qld shelf prices were as follows: Aldi Qld Hass avos selling with a ticket price of $1.19ea; Coles Qld had Hass ticketed at $1.30 ea; and Woolworths Qld had prominently positioned instore displays of Hass (large sizes) ticketed at $1.80 and Shepards at $1.50ea depending upon fruit size and store location. The fruit on shelves varied in condition with maturity ranging just yielding to firm.

RETAIL SNAPSHOTS OF AVOCADOS

Below: Coles Carindale, Toowoomba and Indooroopilly Displays

Coles stores had Skylark Hass avocados priced at $1.30ea. Primarily all NZ stock Fruit age up to 30 days.
Stores had 5 piece packs at $5.50ea - these too were filled with fruit of NZ origin.

Below: Aldi Carindale, Toowoomba and Indooroopilly Displays

NZ Hass loose @ $1.19 each everywhere. All fruit was well stocked- Fruit age 27 days.
6 piece Hass nets filled with NZ fruit at $5.99.

Below: Woolworths Carindale, Toowoomba and Indooroopilly Displays

Stores had The Avocado Collective WA Count 18/20 Hass avocados at $1.50-$1.80 each and Greenskin Count 20/23 Shepard avocados also at $1.50 each - a presence of minor skin marking; rots and a few stings amongst the new season Shepards - a good mix of maturity on offer throughout the Hass displays.
5 piece packs on special at $5.50/ pack.

INDEPENDENT STORE CARINDALE

Hass and Shepard Avocados at 2 for $5.00; a second retailer in this same centre were offering Shepards 3 for $5.00.

BANANA OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

Last week the total industry production was just shy of 453K cartons which is some 11,211 cartons less than the previous week. The weather patterns of heat, sunshine and plentiful rain have again been a constant again this week in far north Queensland. Morning temperatures have continued to be rather balmy across all NQ regions with early a.m. temps falling within a range of 20 to 24.9C; day time temperatures have been somewhat milder close to a top of 32C with a range of 28.5 to 32.2C. In terms of rainfall up to Wednesday all major North Qld growing regions received moderate falls with Tully receiving the most rain with some 137mm; Innisfail receiving 116mm; Walkamin receiving 12mm; and Mareeba with a total of 79mm falling across the week. Cavendish banana bunch age is now at 14-15 weeks, with fruit quality generally found to be good overall in the packshed. With the warm days coupled with the rainfall will continue to promote hastened fruit growth so it is important for all farms to stay on top of girth measurements to ensure overall fruit length and girth is not exceeding specification.

Cavendish in general this week presented reasonably well. Again there was a presence of heat stress fruit on a number of shelves. With the extremes of heat in the various growing regions over the last month; depending farm location, elevation and the irrigation programme being followed etc some farms have a percentage of heat stressed plants which subsequently produce heat stressed bunches. To minimise the impact of heat stress on plants, Rockridge ensures irrigation programmes are adjusted and undertaken at suitable times of the day. Fruit at the stores visited this week were found to have a presence of low level minor dry scar; rust thrip damage; bronzing; bruising; small rub marks and sap staining. Colour was generally good with more plentiful supplies of fruit that was ready to eat.

Retail ticket pricing in Queensland on bananas varied this week amongst the major supermarkets with Aldi’s banana ticket price at $3.49/kg; Woolies offered fruit at $3.50/kg and Coles also offered fruit at $3.50/kg.

RETAIL SNAPSHOT OF BANANAS

Below: Coles Carindale, Toowoomba and Indooroopilly Displays

Cavendish was priced at $3.50-$3.90/kg, with Kids 750g banded clusters also $3.50/kg.
Quality across stores was quite good though some clusters found with minor skin marking.
Lady Fingers were priced at $7.90/kg and Red Tips at $4.90/kg.

Below: Aldi Carindale, Toowoomba and Indooroopilly Displays

Stores had Cavendish @ $3.49/kg- some light bruising/skin marking.
Lady Fingers were priced at $5.99/kg - all in hands that customers had to pull apart.

Below: Woolworths Carindale, Toowoomba and Indooroopilly Displays

Woolworths had Cavendish bananas priced at $3.50/kg, Lil Sana kids banded clusters at $2.50. Displays were generally well presented.
Lady fingers were priced at $7.90/kg - light rub and maturity bronzing found.
Red tips were priced at $4.90/kg.

INDEPENDENT STORE CARINDALE

Cavendish Bananas at $3.49/kg or $2.99 per pack
Lady Fingers priced at $7.99/kg

February 14, 2022

2022-Week 6

February 14, 2022/ Paul Wilson

QUICKLINKS

Avocado Overview

Banana Overview

AVOCADO OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

In a nutshell the national production figures for last week were as follows:

Week 5 - 514,277 trays harvested and consigned this week which represents a significant decrease of 17%( or some 101,925 trays) on Week 4 2022 production - WA production accounted for 76% of this; NZ contributed 10% (again shipping delays have impacted this proportional supply); 9% from NQ (new season Shepards) and the remaining 5% came from Central NSW.
The average industry dispatch per week over the last four week period has been 548,056 trays, which if continued will see the industry fall short by approximately 200K trays for the season’s original forecast.
It is forecast that a total of 546K trays will be despatched this week nationally.
All major supermarkets are selling premium Hass at $1.19- $1.50 per piece, whilst independents were selling class one fruit also for $1.50-$2.00/piece or 3 large pieces for $5 depending upon quality/size. Within the markets we have seen a slight lift in Hass pricing with premium trays of WA hass are selling in the range of $18 -$24/tray depending upon size and quality of each line; whereas premium NZ fruit is fetching $16-$20. Pricing for class one fruit has remained stable (main sales) is ranging $10 -$16per tray; whilst the bulk market has been experiencing prices for premium in the range of $8 to $16 (2nds) --$18-$28/ctn for premium bulks depending upon grade, quality and count size. The markets are receiving the early North Qld Shepards with some farms electing to commence spot picking their larger Shepards ; supplies on the market are of good quality though there is sadly the presence of a couple of lines that are immature; talking to a number of agents indicates that demand for Shepards is somewhat lacking at this point with plentiful supplies of Hass still available.
With the primary production state continuing to be Western Australian it is pertinent to consider the weather in this region. The weather in Manjimup has seen early somewhat milder morning minimum temps ranging 9.6 to 20.2C and daytime maximum temps of 20.4 to 41.9C. The weather this week saw some real extremes in terms of maximum temperatures reached with only 11.4mm since the previous Monday. The available meteorological data for the Pemberton region shows milder early mornings temps of 11.2-13.7C; unfortunately there were no recordings for day time temperatures in this region this week though there was 17.1 mm of rain recorded since the previous Monday. We have noted the presence of a little more nodule damage in the last couple of weeks and we are trying to evaluate if the severe periods of dry heat we are experienced are a potential cause?? Our WA season is almost at an end, so whilst we are keen to investigate our theories on the relationship of extreme field heat as a causation effect relatable to nodule damage, we may run out of time this season.
Avocado display presentation in Qld stores this week was generally pleasing with pricing being the main variable in the major supermarkets based upon store location; sizing stocked and banner. The majority of stores this week were stocking NZ stock, with Hass fruit age in all stores was found to be ranging 15 to 27 days. A number of Woolworths stores were found to be stocking both Hass and new season Shepards; with half of the display devoted to each varietal. Interestingly, the Shepards were positioned in prime position, ie first visible line in the department and at one store visited (Kenmore) the number of pieces sold by 9.15am on the Wednesday morning were 22 x Shepards and 23 x Hass; both ticketed at $1.50ea.
In terms of Hass retail pricing in Qld shelf prices were as follows: Aldi Qld Hass avos selling with a ticket price of $1.19ea; Coles Qld had Hass ticketed at $1.20 ea; and Woolworths Qld had prominently positioned instore displays of Hass (large sizes) ticketed at $1.30 to $1.50ea depending upon fruit size and store location. The fruit on shelves varied in condition with maturity ranging just yielding to firm.

**Shhh!…. the Shepard Avocados are almost ready.**
WHILST OUR WA PARTNERS ARE STILL WORKING THEIR WAY THROUGH THEIR 2021 CROP OF HASS, OUR NORTH QLD GROWERS ARE ALMOST READY TO COMMENCE THE 2022 SHEPARD SEASON. A FEW FARMS HAVE UNDERTAKEN DRY MATTER TESTS WITH RESULTS FOR MIXED SIZING COMING BACK AT 20.8 TO 26.2% WHICH MEANS FRUIT IS OR IS ALMOST READY TO BE HARVESTED. pLEASE KEEP SENDING ME YOUR DRY MATTER TEST RESULTS AS i NEED TO SHARE THESE WITH THE MAJOR SUPERMARKETS TO PROVE WE ARE READY TO GO. hAVING SAID THAT OUR ORDERS FOR THE SUPERMARKETS DO NOT COMMENCE UNTIL mARCH WITH FIRST RECEIVALS IN THEIR DISTRIBUTION CENTRES REQUIRED 3RD MARCH, SO ANYONE STARTING TO HARVEST PLEASE GO STEADY AS FRUIT WILL EXCEED AGE SPECIFICATIONS IF YOU COMMENCE TOO SOON. mAXIMUM AGE THAT WE CAN SUBMIT FRUIT INTO qLD IS 14 DAYS AND INTO SAY VICTORIA IS 18 DAYS. MAKE SURE ALL YOUR LABELLING AND BARCODING IS CORRECT - I HAVE SENT OUT THE LATEST ITEM AND GTIN NUMBERS SO ENSURE THESE ARE WHAT YOU ARE USING TO FORMAT YOUR TRAY AND PALLET LABELS.
WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU ALL AGAIN. REMEMBER IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS AT ANY STAGE EITHER GIVE US A CALL OR SEND US A TEXT OR EMAIL.

RETAIL SNAPSHOTS OF AVOCADOS

Below: Coles Garden City, Kenmore and Carindale Displays

Coles stores had Count 25 Skylark Hass avocados priced at $1.20ea. Primarily all NZ stock Fruit age up to 30 days.
Stores had 5 piece packs at $5.50ea - these too were filled with fruit of NZ origin.

Below: Aldi Garden City, Kenmore and Carindale Displays

NZ Hass loose count 23 @ $1.19 each everywhere. All fruit was well stocked- Fruit age 27 days.
6 piece Hass nets filled with NZ fruit at $4.49.

Below: Woolworths Garden City, Kenmore and Carindale Displays

Stores had The Avocado Collective WA Count 18/20 Hass avocados at $1.50 each and Greenskin Count 20/23 Shepard avocados also at $1.50 each - a presence of minor skin marking and a few stings on the new season Shepards - a good mix of maturity on offer throughout the Hass displays, Shepards were all quite firm. Australian grown fruit age ranged 8-12 days. Woolworths are trialling early stocking of Shepards alongside Hass to see how the two varieties sell in comparison to each other.
5 piece packs on special at $5.50/ pack and Organic mini Hass prepack range priced at $4.00/pack.

BANANA OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

The weather patterns of heat, sunshine and plentiful rain have again been a constant again this week in far north Queensland. Morning temperatures have continued to be rather balmy across all NQ regions with early a.m. temps falling within a range of 19 to 24.6C; day time temperatures have been pushing close to a top of 34.4C with a range of 26.2 to 34.4C. In terms of rainfall up to Wednesday all major North Qld growing regions received moderate to heavy falls with Tully receiving the most rain with some 201mm; Innisfail receiving 167mm; Walkamin receiving 112mm; and Mareeba with a total of 112mm falling across the week. Cavendish banana bunch age is now at 14-15 weeks, with fruit quality generally found to be good overall in the packshed. With the warm days coupled with the rainfall will continue to promote hastened fruit growth so it is important for all farms to stay on top of girth measurements to ensure overall fruit length and girth is not exceeding specification.

Independent retailers were selling bananas at $2.49 to $3.49/kg this week. The markets all have good supplies of cavendish relative to demand with fruit selling at $10-$26 per carton, dependent upon quality and quantity each agent has.

Cavendish in general this week presented reasonably well. Whilst we saw a presence of heat stress fruit on most shelves there seemed to be more on both the Aldi and Coles displays this week. With the extremes of heat in the various growing regions over the last month; depending farm location, elevation and the irrigation programme being followed etc some farms have a percentage of heat stressed plants which subsequently produce heat stressed bunches. To minimise the impact of heat stress on plants, Rockridge ensures irrigation programmes are adjusted and undertaken at suitable times of the day. Fruit at these stores had a presence of low level minor dry scar; rust thrip damage; bronzing; small rub marks; rub marking and sap staining. Colour was generally good with more plentiful supplies of fruit ready to eat.

Retail ticket pricing in Queensland on bananas varied this week amongst the major supermarkets with Aldi’s banana ticket price at $2.49/kg; Woolies offered fruit at $3.00/kg and Coles offered fruit at $3.50 to $3.90/kg.

RETAIL SNAPSHOT OF BANANAS

Below: Coles Garden City, Kenmore and Carindale Displays

Cavendish was priced at $3.50-$3.90/kg, with Kids 750g banded clusters also $3.50-$3.90/kg.
Quality across stores was quite good though some clusters found with minor skin marking.
Lady Fingers were priced at $7.90/kg and Red Tips at $4.90/kg.

Below: Aldi Garden City, Kenmore and Carindale Displays

Stores had Cavendish @ $2.49/kg- some light bruising/skin marking.
Lady Fingers were priced at $5.99/kg - all in hands that customers had to pull apart.

Below: Woolworths Garden City, Kenmore and Carindale Displays

Woolworths had Cavendish bananas priced at $3.00/kg, Lil Sana kids banded clusters at $2.50. Displays were generally well presented.
Lady fingers were priced at $7.90/kg - light rub and maturity bronzing found.
Red tips were priced at $4.90/kg and Organic variety at $5.50/kg.

February 04, 2022

2022-Week 5

February 04, 2022/ Paul Wilson

QUICKLINKS

Avocado Overview

Banana Overview

AVOCADO OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

In a nutshell the national production figures for last week were as follows:

Week 4 - 616,202 trays which is the biggest week of the WA season and represents a massive increase of 29%( or some 138,168 trays) on Week 3 2022 production - WA production accounted for 53% of this; NZ contributed 45% (again shipping delays have impacted this proportional supply) and the remaining 2% came from a combination of the following regions: Tristates and Central NSW.
The average industry dispatch per week over the last four week period has been 503,276 trays, which if continued will see the industry fall short by approximately 750-850K trays for the season’s original forecast.
It is forecast that a total of 532K trays will be despatched this week nationally.

All major supermarkets are selling premium Hass at $1.19- $1.50 per piece, whilst independents were selling class one fruit also for $1.50-$2.00/piece or 3 large pieces for $5 depending upon quality/size. Within the markets things have remained relatively unchanged, premium trays of WA hass are selling in the range of $16 -$23/tray depending upon size and quality of each line; whereas premium NZ fruit is fetching $14-$18. Pricing for class one fruit has remained stable (main sales) is ranging $6 -$14per tray; whilst the bulk market has been experiencing prices for premium in the range of $5 to $14 (2nds) --$15-$26/ctn for premium bulks depending upon grade, quality and count size.

With the primary production state continuing to be Western Australian it is pertinent to consider the weather in this region. The weather in Manjimup has seen early somewhat milder morning minimum temps ranging 9.6 to 17.6C and daytime maximum temps of 22.6 to 36.2C. The weather this week whilst still hot some days is quite a contrast to the weather in the last two weeks again with minimal rain with only 1.4mm falling across two days. The available meteorological data for the Pemberton region shows milder early mornings temps of 11.6-13.3C; but days have warmed up with averages of 20.7 to 24.5C with minimal rain with a total fall for the week of 0.2mm. The flooding over the last week in SA has understandably caused major disruption to transit times, the farm continues to pack with the major impact being longer lead times for transport and subsequent ripening. We have been keeping all informed and have our ripening partners confirming when each load has been received.

Avocado display presentation in Qld stores this week was generally pleasing with pricing being the main variable in the major supermarkets based upon store location; sizing stocked and banner. The majority of stores this week were stocking NZ stock, with Hass fruit age in all stores was found to be ranging 15 to 27 days.

In terms of Hass retail pricing in Qld shelf prices were as follows: Aldi Qld Hass avos selling with a ticket price of $1.19ea and these were featured in the Aldi catalogue this week; Coles Qld had Hass ticketed at $1.30 ea; and Woolworths Qld had prominently positioned instore displays of Hass (large sizes) ticketed at $1.30 to $1.50ea depending upon fruit size and store location. The fruit on shelves varied in condition with maturity ranging just yielding to firm.

RETAIL SNAPSHOTS OF AVOCADOS

Below: Coles Sunnybank Hills and Garden City Displays

Coles stores had Count 25 Skylark Hass avocados priced at $1.30ea. Primarily all NZ stock Fruit age up to 30 days.
Stores had 5 piece packs at $5.50ea - these too were filled with fruit of NZ origin.

Below: Aldi Sunnybank Hills and Garden City Displays

NZ Hass loose count 23/25 @ $1.19 each everywhere and 6 piece Hass nets filled with NZ fruit at $4.99
All fruit was well stocked- Fruit age 23 to 26 days.
Evidence of some bruising; skin scarring and light sun blemish on some pieces.
Hass Avocados featured as a special in this week’s catalogue

Below: Woolworths Sunnybank Hills and Garden City Displays

Stores had Count 20/23 Hass avocados at $1.30-$1.50 each - a presence of minor skin marking on a few lines but a good mix of maturity on offer. A mix of NZ and Australian grown fruit age ranged 13-26 days.
5 piece packs on special at $6.00/ pack!!

BANANA OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

The national cut for Week 4 of 2022 was 447,369 cartons which represented a 3% decrease on the week prior or 13,888 cartons fewer. The heat, sunshine and plentiful rain have again been a constant again this week in far north Queensland. Morning temperatures have continued to be rather balmy across all NQ regions with early a.m. temps falling within a range of 19 to 24.4C; day time temperatures have been pushing close to a top of 32C with a range of 27 to 32.8C. In terms of rainfall up to Wednesday all major North Qld growing regions received moderate to heavy falls with Tully seeing 116mm; Innisfail receiving 199.4mm; and Mareeba receiving 159mm throughout the week; Walkamin topped the regions with a total of 207mm. Cavendish banana bunch age is now at 14-15 weeks, with fruit quality generally found to be good overall in the packshed. With the warm days coupled with the rainfall the rate of fruit growth has certainly quickened and it is important for all farms to stay on top of girth measurements to ensure overall fruit length and girth is not exceeding specification.

Independent retailers were selling bananas at $2.29 to $2.99/kg this week. The markets all have good supplies of cavendish relative to demand with fruit selling at $6-$20 per carton, dependent upon quality and quantity each agent has.

Cavendish in general this week presented well, though the Aldi displays again seemed to be worse affected by heat stress, though there was a presence of some heat affected fruit on Coles shelves as well. With the extremes of heat in the various growing regions over the last month; depending farm location, elevation and the irrigation programme being followed etc some farms have a percentage of heat stressed plants which subsequently produce heat stressed bunches. To minimise the impact of heat stress on plants, Rockridge ensures irrigation programmes are adjusted and undertaken at suitable times of the day. Fruit at these stores had a presence of low level minor dry scar; rust thrip damage; bronzing; small rub marks; rub marking and sap staining seen - also some very long clusters presents, extending the shelf perimeter. Colour was generally good with more plentiful supplies of fruit ready to eat. A presence of some dull fruit found throughout - suggest this is from the elevated heat in the growing regions over the last fortnight.

Retail ticket pricing in Queensland on bananas varied this week amongst the major supermarkets with Aldi’s banana ticket price at $2.99/kg; whilst both Coles offered fruit at $3.50/kg and Woolies offered fruit at $2.50/kg.

RETAIL SNAPSHOT OF BANANAS

Below: Coles Sunnybank Hills and Garden City Displays

Cavendish was priced at $3.50/kg, with Kids 750g banded clusters also $3.50/kg. Quality across stores was quite good though some clusters found with minor skin marking.
Lady Fingers were priced at $7.90/kg, Organic at $3.48/kg and Red Tips at $4.90/kg.

Below: Aldi Sunnybank Hills and Garden City Displays

Stores had Cavendish @ $2.99/kg- some light bruising/skin marking

Below: Woolworths Sunnybank Hills and Garden City Displays

Woolworths had Cavendish bananas priced at $2.50/kg, Lil Sana kids banded clusters at $2.50. Displays were generally well presented with most stores utilizing the bright shelf strips which highlight for customer stock that is ready to eat now and stock that will be ready in a couple of days.
Lady fingers were priced at $7.90/kg - light rub and maturity bronzing found
Red tips were priced at $4.90/kg and Organic variety at $5.50/kg

February 04, 2022

2022-Week 4

February 04, 2022/ Paul Wilson

QUICKLINKS

Avocado Overview

Banana Overview

AVOCADO OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

In a nutshell the national production figures for last week were as follows:

Week 3 - 478,034 trays which was a decrease of 11%( or some 105,678 trays) on Week 2 2022 production - WA production accounted for 80% of this; NZ contributed 17% and the remaining 3% came from a combination of the following regions: Tristates and Central NSW.
The average industry dispatch per week over the last four week period has been 443,243 trays, which if continued will see the industry fall short by approximately 750-850K trays for the season’s original forecast.
It is forecast that a total of 501K trays will be despatched this week nationally.

All major supermarkets are selling premium Hass at $1.29- $1.40 per piece, whilst independents were selling class one fruit also for $1.50-$2.00/piece or 3 large pieces for $5 depending upon quality/size. Within the markets things have remained relatively unchanged, premium trays of WA hass are selling in the range of $16 -$22/tray depending upon size and quality of each line; whereas premium NZ fruit is fetching $14-$18. Pricing for class one fruit has remained stable (main sales) is ranging $6 -$14per tray; whilst the bulk market has been experiencing prices for premium in the range of $5 to $14 (2nds) --$15-$26/ctn for premium bulks depending upon grade, quality and count size.

With the primary production state continuing to be Western Australian it is pertinent to consider the weather in this region. The weather in Manjimup has seen early morning minimum temps ranging 13.3 to 19.4C and daytime maximum temps of 23.7 to 39.7C. The heat in this region has continued with minimal relief from rain with only 1.8mm fallings in the last two days. The available meteorological data for the Pemberton region shows early mornings temps of 13.6-18.6C; the days have also warmed up with averages of 24-37.2C with minimal rain with a total fall for the week of 0.4mm in the last two days.

In terms of Hass retail pricing in Qld shelf prices were as follows: Aldi Qld Hass avos selling with a ticket price of $1.29ea whilst they have featured their 6 piece nets in their weekly catalogue for $4.49 ea; Coles Qld had Hass ticketed at $1.30 ea; and Woolworths Qld had prominently positioned instore displays of Hass (large sizes) ticketed at $1.30ea. The fruit on shelves varied in condition with maturity ranging just yielding to firm.

RETAIL SNAPSHOTS OF AVOCADOS

Below: Coles Browns Plains, Sunnybank Hills and Fairfield Displays

Coles stores had Count 20 and 23 Skylark Hass avocados priced at $1.30ea. Primarily all NZ stock Fruit age up to 30 days.
Stores had 5 piece packs at $5.50ea - these too were filled with fruit of NZ origin.

Below: Aldi Browns Plains, Sunnybank Hills and Fairfield Displays

NZ Hass loose count 23 @ $1.29 each everywhere and 6 piece Hass nets filled with NZ fruit at $4.49
All fruit was well stocked- Fruit age 23 to 26 days.
Evidence of some bruising; skin scarring and light sun blemish on some pieces.

Below: Woolworths Browns Plains, Sunnybank Hills and Moorooka Displays

Stores had Count 16/18 Hass avocados at $1.30 each - a presence of minor skin marking on a few lines but a good mix of maturity on offer. A mix of NZ and Australian grown fruit age ranged 13-26 days.
5 piece packs on special at $4.50/ pack and Odd Bunch 1kg packs at $5.50ea

BANANA OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

The national cut for Week 3 of 2022 was 461,257 cartons which represented a 11.6% decrease on the week prior or 60,370 cartons fewer. The heat, sunshine and plentiful rain have been a constant again this week in far north Queensland. Morning temperatures have continued to be rather balmy across all NQ regions with early a.m. temps falling within a range of 20 to 24.2C; day time temperatures have been pushing close to a top of 32C with a range of 27.1 to 32C. In terms of rainfall up to Wednesday all major North Qld growing regions received moderate to heavy falls with Tully seeing 165mm and Innisfail receiving 109mm throughout the week; whilst both Walkamin and Mareeba received approximately 60mm each. More rain is expected this week with a potential for severe thunderstorms and even flooding due to the amount of rain the region has been receiving over the last fortnight. Cavendish banana bunch age is now at 14-15 weeks, with fruit quality generally found to be good overall in the packshed. With the warm days coupled with the rainfall the rate of fruit growth has certainly quickened and it is important for all farms to stay on top of girth measurements to ensure overall fruit length and girth is not exceeding specification.

Cavendish in general this week presented well, though the Aldi displays seemed to be worse affected by heat stress. Fruit was presenting quite cleanly though there was a presence of low level minor dry scar; rust thrip damage; bronzing; small rub marks; rub marking and sap staining seen. Colour was generally good with more plentiful supplies of fruit ready to eat. A presence of some dull fruit found throughout - suggest this is from the elevated heat in the growing regions over the last fortnight.

Retail ticket pricing in Queensland on bananas varied this week amongst the major supermarkets with Aldi’s featuring bananas as a back to school special on the front page of their weekly catalogue at $2.49/kg; whilst both Coles offered fruit at $2.50/kg and Woolies also offered fruit at $2.50/kg.

RETAIL SNAPSHOT OF BANANAS

Below: Coles Browns Plains, Sunnybank Hills and Fairfield Displays

Cavendish was priced at $2.50/kg, with Kids 750g banded clusters also $2.50/kg. Quality across stores was quite good though some clusters found with minor skin marking.
Lady Fingers were priced at $7.90/kg, Organic at $5.00/kg and Red Tips at $4.90/kg.

Below: Aldi Browns Plains, Sunnybank Hills and Fairfield Displays

Stores had Cavendish @ $2.49/kg. Stores had on average 20% green fruit, with a finding of some light bruising/skin marking also.
Lady Finger bananas were priced @ $5.99/kg - a few clusters found with bronzing, all in hands that customers had to pull apart
Bananas featured in this week’s catalogue

Below: Woolworths Browns Plains, Sunnybank Hills and Moorooka Displays

Woolworths had Cavendish bananas priced at $2.50/kg, Lil Sana kids banded clusters at $2.50. Displays were generally well presented with most stores utilizing the new bright shelf strips which highlight for customer stock that is ready to eat now and stock that will be ready in a couple of days.
Lady fingers were priced at $7.90/kg - light rub and maturity bronzing found
Red tips were priced at $4.90/kg and Organic variety at $5.50/kg

January 12, 2022

2022-Week 2

January 12, 2022/ Paul Wilson

QUICKLINKS

Avocado Overview

Banana Overview

AVOCADO OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

The national production figures for last week were as follows:

Week 1 - 335,159 trays which was a slight decrease on Week 52, 2021 production - WA production accounted for 87% of this; NZ contributed 6% and the remaining 7% came from a combination of the following regions: Tristate; Central NSW and Tamborine/N Rivers.
The average industry dispatch per week over the last four week period has been 456,907 trays, which if continued will see the industry fall short by approximately 700-800K trays for the season.
There was a significant disparity for what was forecast to be arriving from NZ last week and what actuated by some 100,000 trays - this can only be put down to shipping delays.
It is forecast that a total of 545K trays will be despatched this week nationally.

All major supermarkets are selling premium Hass at $1.19- $1.50 per piece, whilst independents were selling class one fruit also for $1.29-$2.00/piece or 3 large pieces for $5 depending upon quality/size. Within the markets things have remained relatively unchanged, premium trays of WA hass are selling in the range of $16 -$22/tray depending upon size and quality of each line; whereas premium NZ fruit is fetching $14-$18 (anything with colour or out-of-date spec is selling for $6-$10). Pricing for class one fruit has remained stable (main sales) is ranging $6 -$14per tray; whilst the bulk market has been experiencing prices for premium in the range of $5 to $14 (2nds) --$14-$25/ctn for premium bulks depending upon grade, quality and count size. We are pushing for the price to lift to $24.00/tray on premium WA Hass for W/C 20th January.

With the primary production state continuing to be Western Australian it is pertinent to consider the weather in this region. The weather in the south west corner of WA has started to warm up a little with early morning minimum temps ranging 11 to 15.6C and daytime maximum temps of 22.5 to 31.2C. The Manjimup region did not have any rain in the last week. The available meteorological data for the Pemberton region shows early mornings warmer with temps of 11.5-?C; the days have also warmed up with averages of 30-32C with no rain for the week.

Avocado display presentation in Qld stores this week was generally pleasing with pricing being the main variable in the major supermarkets based upon store location; sizing stocked and banner. The majority of stores this week were stocking NZ stock, though all three of the Woolworths stores visited had Australian hass on offer. Hass fruit age in all stores was found to be ranging 16 to 30 days.

In terms of Hass retail pricing in Qld shelf prices were as follows: Aldi Qld featured Hass avos in their weekly catalogue with a ticket price for Hass of $1.19ea; Coles Qld had Hass ticketed at $1.20 ea; and Woolworths Qld had prominently positioned instore displays of Hass also ticketed at $1.20 to $1.50ea. A better mix of fruit maturity in terms of fruit yielding and being almost ready to eat this week on most shelves.

RETAIL SNAPSHOTS OF AVOCADOS

Below: Coles Mt Ommaney, Browns Plains and Carindale Displays

Coles stores had Count 20 and 2 Skylark Hass avocados priced at $1.20ea. Primarily all NZ stock Fruit age up to 30 days.
Stores had 5 piece packs at $3.90ea - these too were filled with fruit of NZ origin.

Below: Aldi Mt Ommaney, Browns Plains and Carindale Displays

NZ Hass loose count 23/25 @ $1.19 each everywhere and 6 piece Hass nets filled with NZ fruit at $4.49
All fruit was well stocked- Fruit age 23 to 26 days.
Evidence of some bruising; skin scarring and light sun blemish on some pieces.

Below: Woolworths Mt Ommaney, Browns Plains and Carindale Displays

Stores had Count 20 Hass avocados at $1.20-$1.50 each - a presence of minor skin marking on a few lines but a good mix of maturity on offer. A mix of NZ and Australian grown fruit age ranged 14-24 days.
5 piece packs at $4.50/ pack

BANANA OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

The national cut for Week 1 of 2022 was a little over 466K cartons which was 53.6% up on the week prior, or an additional 163K cartons. The heat, sunshine and rain have been a constant again this week in far north Queensland. Morning temperatures have continued to be rather balmy across all NQ regions with early a.m. temps falling within a range of 20.5 to 24.7C; day time temperatures have been pushing close to a top of 36C with a range of 27.6 to 36C. In terms of rainfall up to Wednesday all major North Qld growing regions received moderate to heavy falls with Tully seeing 100mm and Innisfail receiving 102mm throughout the week; whilst both Walkamin and Mareeba received approximately 78mm each. Cavendish banana bunch age is now at 14-15 weeks, a couple of blocks still at 16 weeks, with fruit quality generally found to be good overall in the packshed. With the warm days coupled with the rainfall the rate of fruit growth has certainly quickened and it is important for all farms to stay on top of girth measurements to ensure overall fruit length and girth is not exceeding specification.

Independent retailers were selling bananas at $2.49 to $3.49/kg this week. The markets all have good supplies of cavendish relative to demand with fruit selling at $6-$20 per carton, dependent upon quality and quantity each agent has.

Cavendish in general this week presented well. Fruit was presenting quite cleanly though there was a presence of low level minor dry scar; rust thrip damage; bronzing; small rub marks; rub marking and sap staining seen. Colour was generally good with more plentiful supplies of fruit ready to eat. A presence of some dull fruit found throughout - suggest this is from the elevated heat in the growing regions over the last fortnight.

Retail ticket pricing in Queensland on bananas varied this week amongst the major supermarkets with Aldi’s ticket price at $3.49/kg; whilst Coles offered fruit at $3.48-$3.50/kg depending upon store location and Woolies also offered fruit at $3.50/kg.

RETAIL SNAPSHOT OF BANANAS

Below: Coles Mt Ommaney, Browns Plains and Carindale Displays

Cavendish was priced at $3.48-3.50/kg, with Kids 750g banded clusters also $3.50/kg. Quality across stores was quite good though some clusters found with minor skin marking. There were kids packs in Coles that were definitely not kid sized fruit - XL had clearly been used to pack these.
Lady Fingers were priced at $7.90/kg, Organic at $5.00/kg and Red Tips at $4.90/kg.

Below: Aldi Mt Ommaney, Browns Plains and Carindale Displays

Stores had Cavendish @ $3.49/kg. One store only had a 40% green fruit/60% ripe display, with a finding of some light bruising/skin marking at all stores.
Lady Finger bananas were priced @ $5.99/kg - a few clusters found with bronzing, all in hands that customers had to pull apart

Below: Woolworths Mt Ommaney, Browns Plains and Carindale Displays

Woolworths had Cavendish bananas priced at $3.50/kg, Lil Sana kids banded clusters at $2.50-$3.00. Displays were generally well presented with most stores utilizing the new bright shelf strips which highlight for customer stock that is ready to eat now and stock that will be ready in a couple of days.
Lady fingers were priced at $7.90/kg - rub and maturity bronzing found, as well as having a little semi condition fruit
Red tips were priced at $4.90/kg and Organic variety at $5.50/kg

January 10, 2022

2022-Week 1

January 10, 2022/ Paul Wilson

QUICKLINKS

Avocado Overview

Banana Overview

AVOCADO OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

In a nutshell the national production figures for the past few weeks were as follows:

Week 50 - 583,708 trays which was a 23% increase on Week 49 - WA production accounted for 75% of this; NZ contributed 20% and 5% came from Tristate; Central NSW and Tamorine/N Rivers
Week 51 - 528,812 trays which was a 9% decrease on Week 50 - WA production accounted for 74% of this, NZ 20% and the balance as per Week 50.
Week 52 - 335,628 trays which was a 37% decrease on Week 51 - WA production accounted for 63%; NZ 33% and the remaining 4% from Tristate and Central NSW.
The average despatch figures for the past four week period has been 492,549 trays per week.
It is forecast that a total of 466K trays will be despatched this week nationally.

All major supermarkets are selling premium Hass at $0.99- $1.50 per piece, whilst independents were selling class one fruit also for $1.29-$2.00/piece depending upon quality/size. Within the markets things have remained relatively unchanged, premium trays of WA hass are selling in the range of $15 -$20/tray depending upon size and quality of each line; whereas premium NZ fruit is fetching $12-$15 (anything with colour or out-of-date spec is selling for $6-$10). Pricing for class one fruit has remained stable (main sales) is ranging $6 -$14 per tray; whilst the bulk market has been experiencing prices for premium in the range of $5 to $14 (2nds) --$14-$25/ctn for premium bulks depending upon grade, quality and count size.

With the primary production state continuing to be Western Australian it is pertinent to consider the weather in this region. The weather in the south west corner of WA has started to warm up a little with early morning minimum temps ranging 9.8 to 18.6C and daytime maximum temps of 23.2 to 37.1C. The Manjimup region did not have any rain in the last week. The available meteorological data for the Pemberton region shows early mornings warmer with temps of 15.0-20C; the days have also warmed up with averages of 28-34C with a total rainfall of 0.6mm.

Avocado display presentation in Qld stores this week was generally pleasing with pricing being the main variable in the major supermarkets based upon store location; sizing stocked and banner. The majority of stores this week were stocking NZ stock, though one of the Woolworths stores visited had Australian hass on offer. Hass fruit age in all stores was found to be ranging 25 to 33 days.

In terms of Hass retail pricing in Qld shelf prices were as follows: Aldi Qld featured Hass avos in their weekly catalogue with a ticket price for Hass of $0.99ea; Coles Qld had Hass ticketed at $1.20 ea; and Woolworths Qld had prominently positioned instore displays of Hass also ticketed at $1.20 to $1.50ea. The fruit on shelves varied in condition with a higher percentage of fruit being very firm compared to fruit on shelf just prior to Christmas.

RETAIL SNAPSHOTS OF AVOCADOS

Below: Coles Kenmore, Mt Gravatt and Forest Lake Displays

Coles stores had Count 23 and 25 Skylark Hass avocados priced at $1.20ea. Primarily all NZ stock
Stores had 5 piece packs at $3.90ea - these too were filled with fruit of NZ origin.

Below: Aldi Kenmore, Mt Gravatt and Forest Lake Displays

NZ Hass loose count 23/25 @ 99c each everywhere and 6 piece Hass nets filled with NZ fruit at $4.49
All fruit was well stocked- Fruit age 23 to 26 days.
Evidence of some bruising; skin scarring and light sun blemish on some pieces.

Below: Woolworths Kenmore, Mt Gravatt and Forest Lake Displays

Stores had Count 16/18 Hass avocados at $1.20 each - a presence of minor skin marking on a few lines but a good mix of maturity on offer. A mix of NZ and Australian grown fruit age ranged 14-34 days.
5 piece packs at $4.00/ pack

BANANA OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

The heat, sunshine and rain have been a constant in the last week in far north Queensland. Morning temperatures have continued to be rather balmy across all NQ regions with early a.m. temps falling within a range of 18.1 to 23.7C; day time temperatures have been pushing close to a top of 40C with a range of 23.3 to 39.1C. In terms of rainfall up to last Wednesday all major North Qld growing regions received moderate to heavy falls with Tully seeing 130mm and Innisfail receiving 139mm throughout the week; whilst both Walkamin and Mareeba received approximately 80mm each. Late in the week there is a tropical low off the coast of the far north which we are all keeping a very close eye upon. Updates to be provided if anything eventuates from this. Cavendish banana bunch age is now at 14-15 weeks, a couple of blocks still at 16 weeks, with fruit quality generally found to be good overall in the packshed. With the warm days coupled with the rainfall the rate of fruit growth has certainly quickened and it is important for all farms to stay on top of girth measurements to ensure overall fruit length and girth is not exceeding specification.

Independent retailers were selling bananas at $1.99 to $2.49/kg this week. The markets all have good supplies of cavendish relative to demand with fruit selling at $6-$20 per carton, dependent upon quality and quantity each agent has.

Cavendish in general this week presented well. Fruit was presenting quite cleanly though there was a presence of low level minor dry scar; rust thrip damage; bronzing; small rub marks; light bat/bird marking and sap staining seen. Colour was generally good with more plentiful supplies of fruit ready to eat.

Retail ticket pricing in Queensland on bananas varied this week amongst the major supermarkets with Aldi’s ticket price at $3.49/kg; whilst Coles offered fruit at $3.00-$3.90/kg depending upon store location and Woolies also offered fruit at $3.00 - $3.90/kg.

RETAIL SNAPSHOT OF BANANAS

Below: Coles Kenmore, Mt Gravatt and Forest Lake Displays

Cavendish was priced at $3.90/kg, with Kids 750g banded clusters also $3.90/kg. Quality across stores was quite good though some clusters found with minor skin marking and green colouring.
Lady Fingers were priced at $7.90/kg, Organic at $5.00/kg and Red Tips at $4.90/kg.

Below: Aldi Kenmore, Mt Gravatt and Forest Lake Displays

Stores had Cavendish @ $3.49/kg. Over 50% green fruit and some bruising/skin marking
Lady Finger bananas were priced @ $5.99/kg - a few clusters found with bronzing, all in hands that customers had to pull apart

Below: Woolworths Kenmore, Mt Gravatt and Forest Lake Displays

Woolworths had Cavendish bananas priced at $3.00/kg, Lil Sana kids banded clusters at $2.50-3.00. Displays were generally well presented with most stores utilizing the new bright shelf strips which highlight for customer stock that is ready to eat now and stock that will be ready in a couple of days - some green fruit and minor bat/bird marking.
Lady fingers were priced at $7.90/kg - rub and maturity bronzing found, as well as having green fruit
Red tips were priced at $4.90/kg and Organic variety at $5.50/kg

December 16, 2021

2021-Week 50

December 16, 2021/ Paul Wilson

QUICKLINKS

Avocado Overview

Banana Overview

AVOCADO OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

The figures released this week saw Western Australia really take ownership of the the lead in production contributing a whopping 88% of the total national harvest of some 474,928 trays last week; followed by New Zealand at 6%. The remaining 6% came from a combination of Tristates; Central NSW and Tamborine/Northern Rivers. This production figure represents a decrease of some 75,000 less trays on the week prior and was equivalent to a decline of 13.7%. New Zealand’s contribution has been impacted by major shipping delays - so at some point their market share will kick by comparison to this week. Whilst talking supplies from other countries, Chile also have reported a bumper crop and are exporting again to Australia with their first shipment of an estimated 21 tonne due to arrive in Sydney late December. It will be interesting to monitor the reception to this fruit since we will still have plentiful supplies of Australian grown fruit, as well as NZ fruit on shore.

All major supermarkets are selling premium Hass at $0.99- $1.20 per piece, whilst independents were selling class one fruit also for $0.99-$2.00/piece depending upon quality/size. Within the markets things have remained relatively unchanged, premium trays of WA hass are selling in the range of $15 -$20/tray depending upon size and quality of each line; whereas premium NZ fruit is fetching $12-$15 (anything with colour or out-of-date spec is selling for $6-$10). Pricing for class one fruit has remained stable (main sales) is ranging $6 -$14 per tray; whilst the bulk market has been experiencing prices for premium in the range of $5 to $14 (2nds) --$14-$28/ctn for premium bulks depending upon grade, quality and count size.

The national production of Hass this week is again forecast to be in the vicinity of 500 - 510,000 trays and then the forecast is for figures ranging 480,000 trays then 390,000 trays across Christmas and New Year. The last four week period has seen an average national dispatch of 519,926 trays per week.

You will note that WA have contributed their highest proportion of the national volume to date last week (88%) which equates to approximately 418,000 trays which now becomes their biggest week of the WA season to date. The weather in the south west corner of WA has finally started to warm up a little with early morning minimum temps ranging 6.6 to 20.3C and daytime maximum temps of 19.8 to 36.8C. The Manjimup region experienced a total rainfall of 5mm last week. The available meteorological data for the Pemberton region shows whilst early mornings are still quite cool with temps of 6.8-9C; the days are warm with averages of 20.4-23.9C with a total rainfall of 5.9mm. Availability of staff due to ongoing Covid issues continues to limit our ability to harvest at our fullest but we endeavour to meet our orders.

Avocado display presentation in Qld stores this week was generally pleasing and pricing in all three major supermarkets varied a little depending upon store location; sizing stocked and banner. The majority of stores this week were stocking NZ stock, though 1 of the 3 Woolworths stores visited had WA hass on offer. Fruit age in all stores was found to be ranging 14 to 34 days.

In terms of Hass retail pricing in Qld shelf prices were as follows: Aldi Qld had increased their ticket price for Hass to $0.99ea; Coles Qld had Hass ticketed at $1.00 ea; and Woolworths Qld had prominently positioned instore displays of Hass also ticketed at $1.20ea. The fruit on shelves varied in condition with a range of 20-60% coloured on offer and ripeness ranging from soft; to yielding to very firm.

SUPERMARKET & MARKET PRICING FOR NEXT WEEK

Supermarket pricing has remained constant with no further price increasing in the foreseeable future.

RETAIL SNAPSHOTS OF AVOCADOS

Below: Coles Garden City, Forest Lake and Mt Ommaney Displays

Coles stores had Skylark Hass avocados priced at $1.00ea. Primarily all NZ stock -Fruit positioned on ends as well as a table top display aligning entry or just inside the store entry.
Stores had 5 piece packs at $4.50ea - these too were filled with fruit of NZ origin.

Below: Aldi Forest Lake and Mt Ommaney Displays

NZ Hass loose count 23/25 @ 99c each everywhere and 6 piece Hass nets filled with NZ fruit at $4.49
All fruit was well stocked- Fruit age 23 to 26 days.
Evidence of some bruising; skin scarring and light sun blemish on some pieces.

Below: Woolworths Garden City, Forest Lake and Mt Ommaney Displays

Stores had Hass avocados at $1.20 each - a presence of minor skin marking on a few lines but a good mix of maturity on offer. A mix of NZ and Australian grown fruit age ranged 14-34 days.
5 piece packs at $4.00/ pack, Organics at $3.50

BANANA OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

The heat keeps building in the far north, week on week. Over the past week the morning temperatures have continued to be rather balmy in North Qld with all regions early a.m. temps falling within a range of 17.8 to 24C; day time temperatures have been steadily creeping up the barometer in the last week ranging 30.3 to 35.3C. In terms of rainfall up to last Wednesday all major North Qld growing regions were experienced light to moderate falls of 5.4 to 20mm. Cavendish banana bunch age remains at 15- 16 weeks on our farm currently, with fruit quality found to be good overall in the packshed. With the warm days the rate of fruit growth is certainly quickening and it is important for all farms to stay on top of girth measurements to ensure overall fruit length and girth is not exceeding specification.

The national cut last week was 469,376 cartons which is a reduction of almost 27,000 on the previous week but still solid production. The forecast for this week is expected to be in a range of 420-440,000 cartons. Independent retailers were selling bananas at $1.99 to $2.49/kg again this week. The markets all have plentiful supplies of cavendish with fruit selling at $4-$15 per carton, dependent upon quality and quantity each agent has.

Cavendish in general this week presented well. Fruit was presenting quite cleanly though there was a presence of some quite long fingers, and low level minor dry scar; small rub marks; light bat/bird marking and sap staining seen. Colour was generally good with more plentiful supplies of fruit ready to eat.

Retail ticket pricing in Queensland on bananas varied this week amongst the major supermarkets with Aldi’s ticket price at $2.99/kg; whilst Coles offered fruit at $2.98-$3.00/kg depending upon store location and Woolies offered fruit at $3.00/kg.

RETAIL SNAPSHOT OF BANANAS

Below: Coles Garden City, Forest Lake and Mt Ommaney Displays

Cavendish was priced at $2.98-3.00/kg, with Kids 750g banded clusters also $3.00-$3.50/kg. Quality across stores was quite good though some clusters found with minor skin marking and green colouring.
Lady Fingers were priced at $7.90/kg and Red Tips at $4.90/kg.

Below: Aldi Forest Lake and Mt Ommaney Displays

Stores had Cavendish @ $2.99/kg.
Lady Finger bananas were priced @ $5.99/kg - a few clusters found with bronzing.

Below: Woolworths Garden City, Forest Lake and Mt Ommaney Displays

Woolworths had Cavendish bananas priced at $3.00/kg, Lil Sana kids banded clusters at $2.50-3.00. Displays were generally well presented with most stores utilizing the new bright shelf strips which highlight for customer stock that is ready to eat now and stock that will be ready in a couple of days - some green fruit and minor bat/bird marking.
Lady fingers were priced at $7.90/kg - rub and maturity bronzing found
Red tips were priced at $4.50/kg and Organic variety at $5.50/kg