Record avocado crop being picked in Queensland

Friday, March 06, 2009

South-east Queensland avocado growers have started picking and packing what's certain to be a record crop.

Over the past year, a combination of good seasonal conditions and the maturity of trees has seen production in the Wide Bay region almost double to a forecast 3.9 million trays.

That's almost half Australia's production.

Childers grower John Walsh says it's critical that only quality fruit is sent to market.

"And that's quality from the point of view that when we go to pick that fruit is mature and also from a defect point of view," he says.

"It's widely known that consumers, if they have a bad experience with avocados, they don't come back and purchase for 4-6 weeks."

Sourced from ABC.