Avos, avos everywhere — and more on the way in SA
The world is avo mad for many reasons, which is good for SA farmers, a lot of which are switching crops to the avo due its farm-gate price rising 130% since 2008
Whether you like to squash it onto your toast in the morning; eat it to cut your cholesterol with its healthy oil; or moisturise your face with it — if you live in the West, you’re probably rarely far from an avocado. And that is very good news for SA’s farmers, struggling with drought, who are switching to a crop whose farm-gate price has risen 130% since 2008. Already, SA generates about R1.85bn a year from avocados, producing about 125,000 tonnes and exporting more than half to Europe. In 2008, avos fetched an average R9.64 per kg; in 2017, it was R22.10. It takes six years to get an avocado plantation into production, but that is not putting farmers off. "Forestry plantations are being felled and cleared and avocados planted," said Derek Donkin, CEO of the South African Subtropical Growers’ Association. "There are also areas that were either bush or some grazing that’s been planted to avocados." There are currently about 16,500ha of avocado plantations, and that area is growing ...
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