Halls, one of the world's leading producers and marketers of avocados, has highlighted Brazil as a potentially plentiful supplier of the fruit.
In a statement, the company said that it was seeking out new supply origins offering favourable parameters for 'all aspects of fruit production and postharvest management' – and indicated several areas of Brazil matched the criteria.
'As an avocado origin, particular regions within Brazil provide a favourable climate for production with suitable site elevation, soil, temperature and rainfall parameters all combining,' said Halls. 'To complement this favourable production, high quality fruit can be effectively shipped from Brazil to European markets by means of efficient pacing facilities, road infrastructure, shipping ports and regular shipping schedules, and favourable transit times delivering fresh produce with good shelf life.'
A project in the country has been set up through a partnership between Halls and ACMH International owner Stephane Hellin, who identified the potential for a Hass avocado export programme in 2017.
Halls and ACMH, in their search for responsibly sourced avocados produced sustainably with high standards of food safety and environmental conservation, turned to producer Ronaldo Morini Ferreira of Campo de Ouro and his daughter Ana Krishna – well respected growers adopting ground-breaking horticultural techniques to produce high-quality Hass.
This, along with the efforts of Hellin to ensure postharvest protocols are followed, has resulted in the successful arrival of high-quality Brazilian avocados into Hall's European facilities.
This 'superior quality' Hass 'rates among Brazil's finest to date', according to Halls.
'Having previously been harvested in an early premature supply window, when fruit oil levels had not yet reached their optimal levels on the tree, this fruit was strategically held back till maturity, oil levels, and eating texture were all deemed to be perfect,' the company explained. 'As a result of this delayed harvest, the quality competes on a par with major exporting origins and is currently being preferentially ripened in Halls' Value Add facilities, thus providing a superior eating quality fruit for respective retail programmes.'
Halls said that it realised the importance of offering support to its grower partners that extends beyond the standard parameters.
“With our growth in global sourcing, we have recently appointed Graham Ballard to manage the development of our grower partners, in particular, new origins which support our supply strategy,” said Paul Devlin, managing director of Halls International.
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