Mission navigating Mexican avocado transition through dual approach
From
| 12 July 2023
Overview of avocados from Mexico in the U.S. market, complemented by charts from Agronometrics. Original published on July 6, 2023.
Mission Produce Inc. has a twofold approach to maintain supply reliability and quality amid the Mexican avocado crop transition: 1) leverage its owned Peruvian supply to complement Mexican size availability, and 2) lean into its mastery in the art of ripening to expertly ripen fruit at various maturity levels.
“At Mission, we offer several competitive advantages to our customers as part of our commitment to world-class service,” said Brooke Becker, vice president of sales. “Our stability of supply coupled with our innovative, avocado-specific ripening infrastructure positions us to provide a consistent, year-round supply of avocados ripened to customer specification.”
Mexico’s transition from the Normal to the Flor Loca crop is expected to continue through August. Due to the transition, the market is experiencing a lack of size out of Mexico; however, larger fruit from Peru is helping to balance the size curve. Mission is among the largest exporters of avocados from Peru and is vertically integrated with 8,315 acres in production, a strategic advantage to fill in supply gaps and promote year-round availability. For the 2023 season, Peru anticipates an approximate 16 percent increase in exportable volume, indicating promotional opportunities during the summer months.
Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics.
(Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here)
Separately, the current market is presenting fruit of various origins, dry matter levels and other characteristics, which calls for advanced ripening capabilities. Mission’s ripening rooms feature state-of-the-art technology and are managed by ripening specialists in every facility to expertly ripen avocados to the correct stage. According to Mission Produce’s Avocado Intel, 28 percent of consumers are looking for avocados that are ripe and ready to eat, while 38 percent are looking for avocados to eat in the next two to three days.
“Our custom ripe programs are designed to inspire impulse purchases by appealing to consumer preferences, driving avocado category sales for our customers,” said Becker. “With our strong grower relationships, we source the highest-quality fruit available, and we are masters in the art of ripening to deliver ready-to-eat fruit.”
Mission’s California packhouse alone has 18 ripe rooms with the ability to pack up to 1.2 million pounds of avocados daily, demonstrating the company’s strength in volume and ripening capacity. Mission Produce is currently sourcing avocados for the U.S. market from California, Mexico and Peru.
For more information on Mission’s Peruvian program and custom ripening capabilities, contact SalesReps@missionproduce.com. The company is attending the Organic Produce Summit July 13-14 and will be at booth No. 502.
The News in Charts is a collection of stories from the industry complemented by charts from Agronometrics to help better tell their story.
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