A contract tells you what happens when things go to plan. In fresh produce they rarely do. What you're really buying from a supplier is how they behave in the week the plan falls over.

A concentrated trade

Australian avocado exports reached a record 18,487 tonnes in 2025, up 8.6 per cent on the year before, according to Avocados Australia's 2025 exports and imports report. Over the past decade they've grown by an average of 26 per cent a year.

Look at where that fruit went. Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia took 84 per cent of the volume. This is a trade that runs through a small number of markets and, inside each of them, a small number of relationships.

That concentration is why the spot market is a poor place to build a business. It looks cheap in a long week and costs you in a short one. You don't know how old the fruit is, how it was handled, or whether the same size profile will turn up next Tuesday.

What holds a relationship together

The first thing is bad news, delivered early. A supplier who tells you on Monday that Thursday's load will be light has given you three days to manage it. One who tells you on Thursday has given you a problem.

The second is a specification both sides can recite. Most disputes in this trade aren't about price. They're about what was meant by "good fruit". Agree the maturity standard, the size range, the pack and what happens when a load misses, and write it down before the season starts. The industry minimum for Hass is 23 per cent dry matter. Decide together whether that's your floor or you want better.

The third is a shared forecast. If you're running a promotion in six weeks, your supplier needs to know now, not when the catalogue prints. If the crop is running a fortnight late, you need to know before you've committed the shelf.

The last is a price both businesses can live on. A deal that only works for one side lasts until the other side finds an alternative.

How we see it

The Avolution has been running export programs for about 14 years, with more than 120 growers behind us and partners in five export markets. The relationships that have lasted weren't the ones with the sharpest opening price. They were the ones where both sides picked up the phone when something went wrong, and where neither went looking for a better offer the first time the market moved.

We report market conditions to our growers regularly and plainly, including when the news is poor. We try to give buyers the same treatment. It's less comfortable than silence, and it's the reason the programs are still there the following season.

If you're choosing a supplier

Ask how they handled their last short week. Ask who rings you when a load is going to miss spec, and how early. Ask what they turned down last season and why. The answers will tell you more than the price list.

Price gets you the first order. Behaviour gets you the tenth. If you'd like to talk about a program, get in touch, or read more about how we work.

References

• Asia Food Journal (2026), Australian avocado industry deepens Malaysia collaboration as exports reach record growth, https://asiafoodjournal.com/australian-avocado-industry-deepens-malaysia-collaboration/, accessed 10 November 2026
• Avocados Australia (2026), Maturity Monitoring, https://avocado.org.au/our-programs/supply-chain-data/maturity-monitoring/, accessed 10 November 2026