In 2022, Australian growers were hit by floods and heavy rains caused by La Nina. Australia's largest avocado grower, Costa Group, is trying to recover and will be forced to sell some of its avocado farms to focus on berries, citrus fruits and exports to China.
Australian avocado production has been oversupplied for years, driving prices to record lows, and heavy rains and flooding last year further damaged the company's outdoor crop. Harry Debney, interim chief executive of the Costa Group, said Costa was considering "scaling back" the avocado business, which has been unprofitable for two years and now accounts for just 5% of the listed company's revenues. After the company revealed a 10% slide in statutory net profit, Debney said Costa had carried out a large in-depth survey of all its farms and had identified some that were less productive, which could be scaled down or even divested.