Welcome to the March-April Newsletter,
With the export season now well and truly behind us, focus has moved to reviewing the season gone and of course planning for 2018-19.
An addition we have made to the season review process is a sit down chat with growers to discuss your orchard management drivers, your experiences with contractors, with us, with our reporting and processes and getting your feedback on some initiatives. This chat is an opportunity to check in and ensure that we are meeting your needs and requirements – it’s the opportune time to assess if our model delivers the outcomes you are looking for from a total orchard value perspective. We have started this process and thank those that have already participated, we are already seeing great value in going through this process.
Another current area of focus for the grower services team is crop estimation and how to improve this. Some of us are good at it but the majority of estimates across the industry are well below actuals. The industry crop estimate started at 2.8 million trays and once completed we had only managed 2.2 million trays, which represents a 27% decrease in estimated volumes. When you consider that we front end load our Asian programmes, this can leave a lot of money on the table in the valuable Australian market window from December onwards. The grower services team have reviewed various crop estimation methods and will be taking a new approach for the coming season.
China is still very much on the agenda. As the packer that represented the industry through the trial and OAP sign off process, we have provided an article in the current AvoScene for all packers in our industry explaining the new compliance regulations and our experience meeting those.
For us and growers, there are plenty of questions regarding marketing and pricing in China. What I can say is that it will be a measured approach as with other new markets we have developed – building the volumes and value proposition on a season by season basis.
After three years with Just Avocados, we farewelled Kim Muir who has taken up a position with St John Ambulance in Rotorua. She had throughout her time with us been a volunteer with the Tauranga service and has studied towards qualifications to further her ability in this field. We wish her the best with this career path. Jazz Richardson, who usually works in EDI in the Just Avocados packhouse, has stepped into the reception and admin role for the interim.
See you at our upcoming field days – details in the newsletter
Regards,
Jarrod