Freska Produce International's Gary Clevenger Discusses Strong Avocado Demand

What can I say about avocados that hasn’t already been said? They’re green, they’re versatile, and they’re verifiably delicious. While all of us may have an arsenal of avo-puns in our back pockets, Gary Clevenger, Managing Principal at Freska Produce International, is here to tell you something you don’t know. Mother Nature is turning over a new leaf, and Freska’s premium avocado harvest is now well underway.

“We are currently harvesting Californian avocados and Mexican avocados,” Gary begins. “The quality has been very good from season to season out of all growing regions. Growers have been getting very good at growing the little green gems and have made it easy on avo shippers.”

While this cycle of Freska’s Mexican avocado season is wrapping up to make way for the Loca crop, its California harvest recently kicked off with around 96 percent of the season remaining and an estimated volume of 369 million pounds. According to Gary, demand for avocados is very strong at the moment. He notes that California has a much bigger crop this year, so challenges could arise once sizing has peaked.

“Avocados are still a growing commodity. The versatility of the avocado has created so many different uses, and with the expansion into China, this could expand even more over the next few years,” he continues. “Both Colombia and Peru will be shipping fruit over the next few months, so there will not be a lack of choices in the avocado category.”

When asked about the weather, Gary reiterates that weather is always a concern for those who grow outside of greenhouses, but even so, rain and wind have not hindered Freska from producing an outstanding supply of avocados.