The Avocado Collective has completed a A$17 million (approximately US$11.1 million) expansion of its Manjimup packing facility in Western Australia, increasing daily capacity from 30,000 to 100,000 trays.

The upgrade includes nine robotic machines, a 10-lane grader, automated pallet handling, scanning equipment, additional cold storage and packing sheds. AI-assisted cameras inspect approximately 100 avocados per second for quality defects.

Automation has reduced packing floor staffing requirements by 40 to 50 workers, while batch changeover times have fallen from approximately five minutes to less than one minute. The system also integrates grading, labelling, order management, consignment allocation, quality control and grower reporting.

The investment comes as Australian avocado output is forecast to reach 170,000 tons in coming seasons, according to Rabobank. Western Australia accounts for more than a quarter of national supply.

The grower-owned business works with more than 70 growers across Australia and exports up to 40% of its crop to markets in Asia and the Middle East.

The expansion is intended to accommodate increasing fruit volumes while managing labour, energy and packing costs.