Australia Can’t Eat Avacado’s Fast Enough

If there was a Bat-signal that could reach free-spending Guacamole-loving millennials on the other side of the planet, the Australian board of tourism should start shining it.

The nation Down Under is drowning in avocado. After drastically overestimating demand, Australian farmers are now selling avocados at prices that would make cost-conscious American baby boomers green with envy.

Pit Stop

Australia is facing annual inflation of around 6%, according to its Bureau of Statistics. That may sound rather pedestrian compared to price hikes around the rest of the world, but it still marks the nation’s worst year for inflation since 1990. Fortunately for fans of smashed avo, as the locals call their beloved avocado toast, the bright green fruit has been blessedly spared from this particular economic deprivation.

Instead, prices are hovering around an all-time low, and farmers and grocers alike are doing whatever they can to keep product moving:

• The average price of a single avocado in Australia is down roughly 30% from a few years ago, according to The Wall Street Journal, with some grocery stores selling the pitted fruit for roughly $0.70 (avocados typically go for around $2 a piece in New York City grocery stores).
• Avocado production in the nation increased 26% in the 12 months through July, according to a report from agribusiness bank Rabobank. That’s enough, according to the report, to supply each of the nation’s 25.6 million residents with 22 avocados for the year.

Guac ‘n’ Roll: Australian households consumed 30% more avocados in 2021, and low prices are expected to lead to an increase again this year. Meanwhile, Australia’s production may expand by 40% in the next five years, Rabobank reckons, as Australian exporters tap growing markets in Eastern and Southeastern Asia. What a smashing success!