Planet
The most important ingredients in our avocados come from the nature that surrounds them.
When nature created the avocado, it produced perfection. We’d like to keep it that way.
We strive to protect the planet for all people through:
AvoGreen ™
Our unique Avogreen™ programme provides New Zealand avocado growers with information about pests they may find in their orchard, how to monitor these and, if necessary, how to control them in a safe and environmentally sound manner. Compliance with AvoGreen™ is mandatory for all New Zealand export avocados and ensures fruit meets market requirements, is safe and suitable for our consumers, minimizes food loss and that it is produced in an environmentally responsible way.
Water use – responsible and regulated
Current research shows that avocado growing regions in New Zealand receive 2-3 times the required amount of annual rainfall to produce avocados, but not all that rainfall comes when the tree needs it. In some cases avocado growers store and use water for frost protection and irrigation. Avocado growers in New Zealand work within the requirements of their local councils and environmental agencies to ensure that they comply with New Zealand’s Resource Management Act to ensure water allocation and use is carried out in a sustainable way.
New Zealand has a number of fresh water policy initiatives that the avocado industry is committed to, for more information about these click here.
Measuring and improving carbon footprint
NZ Avocado is undertaking the world’s first life cycle assessment study for avocados, to determine the carbon footprint of avocados grown in New Zealand. The life cycle assessment project will measure inputs and outputs across New Zealand avocado orchards, post-harvest and onward distribution to market. The results will be used to benchmark environmental impacts and sustainability of New Zealand grown avocados and identify areas for improvement.
Since 2015 an additional 1,000 hectares of new avocado orchards have been planted over land in new Zealand that was previously used for dairy farming. Dairy farming produces significantly significantly higher emissions than avocado orchards and has a much higher carbon footprint.
Preventing food loss
A number of measures are implemented across the New Zealand avocado supply chain to ensure food loss is minimised.
New Zealand avocados are stored on the tree and only harvested to meet customer orders.
Avocados are not cool-stored for long periods, to avoid food wastage in storage.
New Zealand avocados are picked by size, undersized fruit remains on the tree until it is ready to be harvested.
New Zealand avocados have mandatory maturity requirements that ensures New Zealand avocados ripen for optimal transport outcomes and consumer experience.
New Zealand avocados are graded to all go to a source for consumption, be that to export markets, to the New Zealand domestic market or to be processed into avocado products such as avocado oil.
New Zealand has a mandatory orchard management system AvoGreen™, which ensures fruit defects are monitored on orchard and management practices applied when needed.
Best practice orchard management and harvest guidelines ensure optimal fruit quality
