In January, Salsa Agricola S.L. began harvesting its main commercial variety of avocado, Hass, with outstanding expectations in terms of sales prices. The significant and progressive increase in demand for this fruit in Europe, which is not accompanied by parallel growth in production, indicates that the historic prices achieved in the previous season may be surpassed.
The avocado harvest season in the region of La Axarquia, Spain’s biggest producing area, began in October 2016 with the harvest of the smooth-skin pollinating varieties, mainly Bacon, Zutano and Fuerte. Production was much higher than the previous season and prices slightly lower. These varieties have a limited commercial route since they overlap with the arrival of the Hass variety in the markets, which is preferred by European consumers, hence the price limitation.
The expected production of Hass avocados on farms owned by Salsa Agricola S.L. is somewhat lower than the previous year due to the fact that some of them are experiencing alternate bearing following on from the high yields of the previous year. However, given that some of the other farms are increasing their development and productivity, it is likely that final production will hardly be any lower and will remain at the 600,000 kg level, always with the collaboration of environmental factors.
