The California Avocado Commission (CAC) is forecasting excellent quality and demand for 2017.
2016 saw some near-record numbers for California avocados. The CAC reported that last year’s harvest was above average in volume at 401.4 million pounds. It also delivered the third-highest California avocado crop value on record. However, for 2017, a smaller volume forecast will mean a tighter window of supply and marketing efforts focused to match distribution.
Shade
California avocados are an alternate bearing crop. Often, but not always, a larger crop one year is followed by a smaller crop the next season, which seems to be the case for 2017. Other factors contributing to a smaller 2017 California avocado crop estimate are weather-related events from 2016, which vary by region.
As for how the crop is doing with all the rain California has had lately, CAC Chairman Rick Shade says it’s good not just for this year’s crop, but for next year’s crop as well. He said the commission is evaluating what the rain will mean in terms of harvest timing. Shade said while some California avocados are already in distribution in a few local chains, in general, it looks like there will be a ramp-up of harvesting in mid to late spring.