"The More You Sell, The More You Lose"... This Fruit Has Gone from Precious to Neglected

Price per Avocado Falls Below $1 Due to Oversupply
Increasing Number of Farms Discard Avocados
Australia Faces Mass Disposal Amid Supply Glut

The photo is not related to any specific expression in the article [Image source=Pixabay]

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Nayeon] Despite soaring fruit prices due to the Ukraine war and inflation, Australian farms are discarding large quantities of avocados. This is because the selling price of avocados has plummeted due to oversupply.

Recently, the Financial Times (FT) reported that an oversupply of avocados in Australia has caused prices to crash. Currently, one avocado in Australia is being sold for 1 Australian dollar (about 911 KRW).

This price is only 10% of the cost of a head of cabbage and less than half the average price of fruit sold in Australia over the past five years.

As the selling price falls below production costs, more farms have started discarding avocados. In May, a controversy arose when freshly harvested avocados were dumped in large quantities at a disposal site in Queensland, Australia.

Jim Koch, chairman of Avocado Australia, the Australian avocado farmers' association, explained, "The cost of packaging and transporting avocados is higher than the selling price," adding, "Even when farmers try to process avocados into fertilizer, the lack of facilities often leads to discarding."

The demand for avocados in Australia is not lacking. Pia Pigott, an analyst at Dutch investment bank Rabobank, predicted that the per capita avocado consumption in Australia will exceed 5 kg this year. This represents a 26% increase from last year, with Australians expected to consume a total of 130,000 tons this year.

However, avocado supply is outpacing demand. Recently, avocados gained global popularity alongside toast, a traditional Australian breakfast menu. As a result, Australian farms competitively increased avocado planting. Rabobank forecasts that Australia's avocado production will increase by 40% to 173,000 tons by 2026.

In response to the avocado oversupply crisis, Australia is making efforts to diversify sales channels. About 4% of the avocados produced last year were exported to Malaysia, Singapore, and other countries. John Teas, a trade official, stated, "Australian farms need to expand overseas sales channels such as Japan for avocados," adding, "Currently, export negotiations are underway with the UK, India, and others."