California-based global avocado marketer Index Fresh has wrapped up its California season with good prices and high quality fruit. The prices this season broke all records on a dollars per carton basis.
“With a smaller crop, you can usually expect higher prices, due to simple supply and demand. Mexico also had a short crop, and undershipped in June and July. This helped shore up prices in California, especially in the last months of the season,” said Giovanni Cavaletto, vice president of sourcing for Index Fresh. “It was a short crop, so California finished in early September instead of October. The quality this season was outstanding. Index Fresh also picked up new growers, which is always great.”
Giovanni Cavaletto
One of the big support areas for Index Fresh growers has come through the company’s consulting agronomist, Gerardo Aldunate, who visited growers again this season to help with questions on cultural practices and productivity. Aldunate has been assisting Index Fresh with its annual seminar series, and now putting all these insights into action with the grower network. He will be leading the next Index Fresh seminar series next month.
“Growers will probably adjust their harvest [next season]. There might be an earlier desire to start harvest, and implement size picking, and doing multiple picks rather than just one pick,” said Keith Blanchard, California field manager for Index Fresh. “Growers may be cautious over potential cold and hot weather factors. Everyone is still feeling the sting of the heat wave of 2017, so they might not want to gamble with leaving the fruit on the tree too long.”
Being a grower-owned corporation, Index Fresh finds strength in its grower networks in all the sourcing regions and the grower relationships they have built over the decades. The value in marketing with Index Fresh lies in the company’s ability to support growers from grove to market, with diverse resources including its state-of-the-art facilities, Seminar Series, dedicated food safety team helping growers achieve premium certifications, and various incentive programs.
