Avocados are our third-largest fresh fruit export, behind kiwifruit and apples. But it may not remain that way for long.
There's a bold plan to boost our productivity over the next eight years.
In June last year, the Government said it would invest, through the Primary Growth Partnership (PGP), in a programme called New Zealand Avocados Go Global which aims to triple our avocado yield to 12 tonnes a hectare which will quadruple industry returns to $280 million by 2023.
A total of $8.56 million will be invested in this PGP programme over the next five years, with the Government committing $4.28 million and the balance coming from the industry and investors.
Achieving these goals will require growing our export markets in Asia, research to ensure a consistent and sustainable supply of fruit, improving the industry's supply chain, developing new products from waste, and benchmarking performance to encourage the uptake of best practice across the industry.
NZ Avocado chief executive Jen Scoular, who worked on the PGP business case for two and a half "long years", describes the plan as ambitious, collaborative, and even "audacious".
"But we're successfully implementing it and seeing great buy-in to the research and development by growers, scientists and consultants alike.
"People can see the value of engagement and how important it is to build strong networks and relationships.
"We've developed new marketing collateral for avocados from New Zealand, which has been taken up very strongly by exporters and the New Zealand market.
"And I have a great team here doing the groundwork, always pushing the limits, always looking for new opportunities."
The PGP programme will certainly deliver big economic benefits for the regions where avocados are grown.
Scoular expects increased employment to flow through to rural Northland and the Bay of Plenty as crop numbers lift and more avocado trees are planted.
"Additional skilled roles will become available in these areas which will give people the opportunity to upskill," she says.
"There will also be increased land value where avocados can be grown based on increased yields and margins."
Avocados are certainly more popular this year because eating habits are changing.
"They are the perfect food for a number of different consumers," Scoular says.
"Those who are interested in fitness -- it's a fuel; those who are interested in nutrition -- it's nutrient dense; those who are interested in weight loss -- it's a high-nutrition food that will keep you fuller for longer.
"Heart health is another major concern in New Zealand and research has shown that avocado is a perfect addition to a diet that aims to manage heart health, because they're cholesterol-free."
New international research is emerging all the time about their health benefits.
Avocados contain 20 vitamins and minerals and are made up of proteins, good fats and carbohydrates.
They also help your body to absorb more of the nutrients from other foods they are eaten with, making it one of the most nutritionally complete foods in the world.
All of which adds up to more export dollars for our horticultural industry.
In addition to the Primary Growth Partnership programme, extensive research and trials are underway to help solve historical and complex issues such as why avocado trees produce lots of fruit one year then bear less fruit the next.
A $4 million Avocados for Export research project is being led by Plant & Food Research and funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
Issues such as fruit-set, pruning, irrigation, and canopy management are being studied to help increase the volume of fruit New Zealand can produce and thus extend our export supply window.
So far, all the signs are looking positive.
The 2013-14 export season saw the industry's value soar to a record $136 million.
And the 2014-15 summer season saw our avocado production reach a new high of 7 million trays.
Scoular says: "It's a very exciting time to be part of this industry,"
