QUICKLINKS

BANANA OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

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

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

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

BANANA SNAPSHOT

Left to Right: Woolworths, Aldi and Coles Cavendish Displays

AVOCADO OVERVIEW

SUPPLY UPDATE

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

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

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

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

AVOCADO SNAPSHOT

Left to Right: Woolworths Shepards, Aldi Shepards and Coles NZ Hass Avocados

Source: Avocados australia 2021 - avocado weekly dispatch forecast vs actual

STOCK IN STORES

QUICKLINKS

Bananas at Woolworths

Avocados at Woolworths

BANANAS AT ALDI

ALDI CARINDALE

Cavendish Bananas were priced at $2.99/kg - a degree of minor skin marking was present and occasional dull cluster.
L:ady Fingers were of good colour and priced at $5.99/kg

ALDI DREWVALE

Cavendish bananas at $2.99 - mixed condition and again stacking of fruit causes more skin damage - some very dull clusters found throughout the display and a few clusters that were spotting.
Lady Fingers at $5.99/kg - good colour and generally of good presentation, little rub and sap staining.

BANANAS AT COLES

COLES GELNEG S.A.

Cavendish bananas priced at $3.90/kg

COLES CARINDALE

Cavendish bananas priced at $3.00/kg, well stocked in Cavendish, some backwards fruit
No other displays in this Coles store

COLES GREENSLOPES

Cavendish priced at $3.90/kg , with approximately 30% of display being semi coloured fruit - a few clusters questionable being very dull or quite visibly marked.
Lady Fingers at $7.90/kg with low stock and Kids banded clusters on sale, ticketed at $1.95 each - these had considerable marking and discolouration - appeared to be a stock clearance markdown.

BANANAS AT WOOLWORTHS

WOOLWORTHS GLENEG S.A.

Cavendish bananas priced at $3.90/kg. Good colour and generally good bloom (odd cluster will dull bloom), light skin marking, some backward fruit.
Lil Sana/Kids packs at $2.50, ladyfingers at $7.90/kg. Organic clusters present and priced at $4.40.

WOOLWORTHS CARINDALE

Cavendish bananas at $3.00/kg - odd cluster with light bat marking; display needed a refill..
Red tips at $4.50 and Ladyfingers at $6.90/kg - ladyfingers with developing maturity bronzing.
Kids packs at $3.00

WOOLWORTHS PARKINSON

Cavendish were priced at $3.00/kg, some with marking and damaged necks

INDEPENDENT STORE - FRESH SENSATIONS CARINDALE

Cavendish bananas at $2.99/kg fruit had good colour some light marking whilst Lady Fingers were selling at $7.99/kg - slightly backward but very good presentation.
‘Today’s Special’was Lady Finger packs which were selling for $3.99

AVOCADOS AT ALDI