Australian avocado prices soar as supply goes pear-shaped

Sydney

WHILE prices for most Australian commodities are bumping along the floor, local avocados are fetching a king's ransom thanks to hostile weather, strict quarantine laws and a Christmas binge.

Outside South and Central America, where the fruit is native, Australia has the highest per-capita consumption in the world, at an annual 3.2 kilogrammes, or about 15 fruits, according to industry body Avocados Australia.

But while Australian demand for the fruit has been fuelled by its store of healthy fats, supply has been strangled by heavy rain and bushfires, and because growers in western Australia, anticipating a fall in demand after Christma…