The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in demand for avocados.
Among the top 20 global producers of avocados, South Africa produces over 120 000 tones of the fruit annually.
What once was a seasonal crop with a high price tag, has now become more readily available all year round.
Local engineer Ian van Brouwershaven says there is a huge demand for high and low-priced avocados and that the technology available to sort, package and deliver must be efficient to service demand.
“There are always different markets willing to pay premium prices, high-value markets are willing to pay the high prices and the lower value markets will take lower quality fruits cheaper and the lowest end is processing where we can make guacamole or avo oil from spoilt fruit. There are a lot of technologies that can make you more energy efficient but we still rely on Eskom.”
South Africa produces over 120 000 tons of the avocado crop annually:
