Avocados

Australians are renowned for their love for avocados – the spreadable green flesh of this prized fruit has made them a hot commodity in cafes across the country. In WA, avocados are farmed in various regions including Gingin towards the north, and Busselton, Manjimup and Pemberton down south. They are also grown on a smaller scale along the coastline from Carnarvon to Albany.

Varieties

In WA, the Haas variety is most commonly grown, making up over 95% of all avocados commercially grown. Alongside Haas, other varieties available in WA include Reed, Fuerte, Sharwil, Lamb Hass, and Llanos Hass.

Nutritional value

Avocados are rich in healthy, good fats. In fact, avocados are the only fruit apart from olives to contain monounsaturated fats.

The unique combination of vitamins and minerals found in avocados can help keep your immune system fighting fit, boost energy, enhance brain power, build bone, aid gut health, support healthy skin and can even put you in a better mood. Basically, avocados make everything better.

Usage Tips

Ripe avocados have a stronger smell, sure, but you really need to pick them up to assess their readiness. When they’re ripe, they’ll be almost entirely black and soft to the touch.

Generally, you shouldn’t refrigerate avocados if you want them to be perfectly ripe and delicious, but if one is already mushy and you’re not quite ready to eat it, stick it in the fridge to prevent it from going bad.

If you’ve already opened one and now have a half that is practically threatening to turn brown, wrap it super tightly with plastic wrap, pressing it as close to the flesh as you can before sticking it in the fridge.

Recipes

Tours & Travel

The Sleeping Lady private retreat is a working avocado farm that produces three varieties of avocados. Its central location means that there are many attractions, such as Castle Rock and the Granite Skywalk, in the region to choose from close by.

Explore the magnificent Porongurup National Park, visit local wineries, discover wildflowers, go whale watching, or hike up Bluff Knoll, the highest peak in the Stirling Range National Park, while you are in the area. Take a trip to Mount Barker, Albany, Denmark and Two People’s Bay. Explore the stunning coastline or simply relax and get away from it all.

Growers Guide

Due to the climatic differences of the growing regions, WA avocados can be available all year round. However, with current major plantings the main commercial  season runs from August through to February inclusive.

Western Australian avocado production has an entrenched alternate bearing pattern producing a cycle of heavy, light, heavy crop seasons (see Figure 1). The industry is working to reduce the variation in production from season to season.

Avocados can enter Western Australia from interstate and New Zealand under certain import conditions so fresh avocados are always available. This allows a reasonably stable market for avocados in Western Australia.