Brad Siebert: NZ Avocado CEO on the predicted strong 2024/25 season

An expected uptick in the country's avocado production as the global market value smashes past $30 billion. 

A Rabobank report reveals our avocado industry saw a strong recovery last year after crop losses in 2023, due to Cyclone Gabrielle. 

NZ Avocado's forecasting a production increase of around two-million trays for the 2024/25 season, compared to the last.  

NZ Avocado CEO Brad Siebert told Heather du Plessis-Allan they’ve got all the ingredients for a better season ahead.

He says New Zealand avocados are harvested for over 10 months of the year – a unique window compared to many of our offshore competitors. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now it looks like the avocado industry is bouncing back
from a few tough years. Rabobanks just got a report out.
It shows an increase of around two million trays for
the twenty four to twenty five season compared to the
previous season. Brad Siebert is New Zealand Avocado Ceom and.

Speaker 2 (00:14):
Is with us.

Speaker 1 (00:14):
Morning. Brad, morning, Hell, are you feeling optimistic?

Speaker 2 (00:19):
We are, and we've got I guess all the ingredients
there for a better season ahead. So the optimism is
probably the word i'd use.

Speaker 1 (00:26):
Yeah, what are the other ingredients?

Speaker 2 (00:29):
We've had some better growing conditions. Obviously a couple of
storms in the last few years have already dampened some
of that optimism and some of our export volumes and
the returns for grows. So better growing conditions and hopefully
an expanded market, global market. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (00:47):
Have you managed to replace the crops that were lost
in cyclone Gabriel a couple of years ago?

Speaker 2 (00:51):
Yeah, I mean individual grows are impacted differently, and some
it's the crop that's impacted versus the trees themselves. Often
so those are bounced back and growth of the opportunity
if they look after their crop to get a good volume.

Speaker 1 (01:09):
Why is the export price still as low as its
global competition.

Speaker 2 (01:14):
It's purely that we've got over thirty countries now producing avocados.
We've got a bit of a unique window off season
to many of our offshore competitors, but we still compete
with the likes of Peru and some other large producers
in some of our key markets. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:30):
Do you think that that's the foreseeable future? Is it
going to be depressed by that competition?

Speaker 2 (01:35):
Well, the world's growing avocados, but we grow the best avocados,
So we're trying to differentiate ourselves and really make sure
that people understand that there's something unique about New Zealand.

Speaker 1 (01:46):
Brad, tell me what's going on. I noticed this year
for I think I think the first year that I
can really remember that we have had avocados on the
shelf all year in New Zealand and they haven't been crappy.
That actually been quite good. What's going on?

Speaker 2 (01:59):
I agree it's exciting for consumers and we need more
people eating avocados in New Zealand to really support our growths.
But we harvest for over ten months of the year.
We're a unique crop in that way. We're able to
do that. We don't import avocados, so every avocado purchases
from one of our growers, so we have extended our

(02:20):
harvest window to meet export demand. I do so it's
allowed us to keep fruit on the shelf.

Speaker 1 (02:28):
Great, Okay, so I can look forward to this for
coming years. What are you doing with your avocado? I'm
still just doing the average to the old classic avocado
on toast. What funky things are you doing?

Speaker 2 (02:40):
You can't be avocado on toast, but I mean a
tagline of ours is amazing anytime, meaning breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
You can add it into your smoothie for lunch and
have a pretty amazing burgle with it as well. So
there is this style.

Speaker 1 (02:54):
Got on your Brad, appreciate that. Brad Seabirt, New Zealand
Avocado CEO. For more on the Mic Asking Breakfast, listen
live to News Talk Set B from six am weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio