Bay of Plenty avocados on world stage at World Avocado Congress

An avocado orchard in the Bay of Plenty.

The Bay of Plenty is arguably the home of avocados in New Zealand. In less than a month, those avocados will be on a world stage at the World Avocado Congress, which is being hosted in New Zealand for the first time ever.

With Katikati being the avocado capital of New Zealand and with the region’s (typically) warm climate and fertile soil, the Bay of Plenty is renowned for producing delicious avocados, says Jen Scoular, chairwoman of the World Avocado Congress committee and New Zealand Avocado CEO based in Tauranga.

“The World Avocado Congress is such a ripe opportunity to have our incredible avocados more than world famous in New Zealand. The congress will showcase New Zealand avocados on the world produce stage and also promote the New Zealand experience. The world really is our oyster, or perhaps I should say ‘the world is our avocado!’,” she says.

The World Avocado Congress is the largest ever global delegation coming to New Zealand for a horticultural event with more than 1100 people representing 32 countries, she says. Over 700 of the delegates are coming from outside New Zealand, and many will be travelling to New Zealand for the first time.

“These numbers have exceeded all our expectations.’’

Taking place next month (April 2-5), the World Avocado Congress will cover a range of national and global topics across the avocado value chain, including the future of food, sustainability, climate change, food trends, food security, global supply chains and the lifecycle for avocado production. The congress is comprised of a three-day academic programme with eight international and national keynote speakers and more than 130 presentations.

“A considerable part of New Zealand’s primary production sector has been impacted by recent weather events so we all need to hear experts talk about the future of food, climate change and the global impacts on horticulture right now.

“It’s been a tough few years for our growers and the whole industry has faced ongoing challenges with the supply chain. At the congress we’ll dive deeper into the changing world of avocado production; the global industry’s responsiveness, the opportunities and risks facing the future of the industry and how the global avocado industry can evolve more sustainably and respectfully.”

While the Bay is New Zealand’s home of avocados, the congress is taking place in Auckland. Before the congress officially begins, delegates have the opportunity to attend field days in the Bay of Plenty, Northland and South Auckland where they will experience the diversity of avocado growing systems and supply chain processes in New Zealand.

“We would love to host the congress in our own backyard. Hopefully, in a few years, when the new exhibition centre and cultural precinct is complete in Tauranga CBD, this could be a possibility. While we haven’t ruled out bidding for another congress in the future, right now we are purely focused on making next month’s congress a huge success.”