Once every five years, avocado orchards in the Lowveld throw up a surprise: an out-of-season crop that is ready to be harvested this time of the year, synchronous with the late season crop from KwaZulu-Natal.

This second avo crop of 2026 was cause for celebration in a difficult year, but it’s not been as lucrative as it was in the past. “Five years ago, ten years ago, I made good money with my out-of-season crop,” says a Lowveld avocado grower. “This is the first year ever that I’m selling my avocados this time of the year directly from the farm to informal buyers for almost a third of what I got for them five years ago.”

Due to high fuel and packaging costs, he’s not sending any of this second crop to the municipal markets, he says, disappointed at the lacklustre performance during this second act of the avocado season.

The average wholesale price lies at R20 (€ 1) per kilogram, which is an improvement on the previous week, according to AMTrends. On wholesale markets, there has been a 46% increase in volumes over this time last year coupled with a 22% drop in prices. And as always, South Africa bucks the worldwide trend with Fuerte avocados attaining roughly double the price of Hass avocados.

© Carolize Jansen | FreshPlaza.comFuerte avocados sold for R22 (€ 1.2) per fruit in Gauteng, October 2026

There needs to be an adjustment of expectations, an industry expert puts forth. “The very high out-of-season prices that Lowveld farmers were used to during this period will probably never again be what they were because of the general growth in avocado volumes in South Africa.”

The avocado farmer posits that the local avocado market appears to be oversupplied; however, that certainly doesn’t appear to be the case from a consumer point of view. A 2.3kg bag of avocados retails for R80 (€ 4.3) at a major retailer at the moment, while a box of twelve Fuerte fruit from the Lowveld costs R220 (€ 12) at a Gauteng greengrocer.

At an independent store, also in Gauteng, that procures its fruit from the Tshwane municipal market, avocados are being offered at R22 (€ 1.2) a fruit.

Late-season exports from South Africa have been continuing, but Europe is also receiving high volumes from Peru, Chile, Kenya and Israel; the latter has had its largest greenskin avocado crop ever, and greenskin prices in Europe are not good at the moment.