Diverse avocado crops key to cultivating demand in Hawaii

If you’re someone who finds it tricky to choose a ripe avocado or wait for one to reach that ideal stage of creamy, rich perfection, you’re in good company.

It’s a challenge even for growers of the popular fruit, says Waialua avocado farmer Dan Carroll, because every variety has its own set of clues. Your best bet would be to buy avocados grown locally, instead of the imported ones, as local fruit often have thinner skins, which makes it easier to determine ripeness, Carroll said.

“Our local avocados are on the market within a week of us harvesting,” he added, while the imported Haas avocados that predominate the market are commonly refrigerated and shipped thousands of miles. Those picked too early or that have suffered cold damage might never ripen properly, he said. “It’s not so much that people don’t know how to tell (ripeness), it’s that some avocados are never going to ripen.”

It’s natural that a farmer would push his own product, but Carroll doesn’t need to do so for the sake of sales. Local avocado is superior in the diversity of flavors, texture and oil content, he said, and he sells everything he grows. “There’s a huge market.”

A new, 16-acre farm that Carroll has begun planting will be one of the few on Oahu to focus solely on avocado production, he said, as most on the island are diversified produce farms.

MOST LOCAL avocados are grown in the ideal volcanic soil of Kona, where the Sharwil variety is actually shipped outside the state (exports are picking up speed after a 25-year federal ban, imposed due to previous concerns about fruit-fly contamination).

But to satisfy the local market, food distributors have relied on imports, for the consistency of the product and year-round supply that clients demand, says Tisha Uyehara, marketing director for Armstrong Produce, Hawaii’s leading wholesaler and distributor. Most imported avocado comes from California, though some are shipped from Florida, Chile and Mexico.

Given a decline in data analysis in the past decade, it’s difficult for industry leaders to nail down the percentage of avocados grown locally compared with imported fruit. They agree, however, that local growers provide only a fraction of the mainstream retail demand, such as supermarket chains — although local fruit are readily available at farmers markets.

The latest direct comparison available comes from the 2005-2006 period. According to state Department of Agriculture records, local avocados came to about 30 percent — 800,000 pounds (or 400 tons) — compared with 2 million-plus pounds (1,000 tons) of imported avocados. In the 2018-2019 period, Hawaii produced 870 tons.

Carroll sees opportunity in these numbers. When it comes to building an agricultural industry, “avocado are low-hanging fruit,” he said. “We can grow the best avocados in the world and be competitive with the import market.”

He manages Barels Avocado Farm and sells everything he can produce — 80 to 100 pounds a week, or 4,000 to 5,000 pounds per year. The crop goes directly to Monkeypod Kitchen in Ko Olina or is sold through Farmlink, an online marketplace and delivery service that anyone can access.

CARROLL HAS such confidence in the demand that he and his fiance, Remy Maylott, recently leased 16 acres and formed their own company, Hua Orchards, to grow avocados and some citrus fruit. It’s right next door to Barels, where they’ve worked since 2013.

Carroll is a farm coach, teaching others to become farmers through GoFarm Hawaii, a University of Hawaii affiliate; Maylott, a baker and graphic artist, helps him with the farm. They’ve been growing rootstock from seed, grafting plants, clearing land and planting windbreaks on their new farm. A few years after the saplings are planted, they should be ready for harvest.

Although the couple already practices organic farming at Barels, their goal is to obtain certification, because there’s a big demand for produce grown with organic fertilizer and soil amendments, and without pesticides.

Avocados can be difficult to grow, as they are vulnerable to a root-rot disease, Carroll said, but that hasn’t deterred them.

Hua Orchards’ microclimate is ideal, with good access to water, and prime, well-draining, acidic soil, he said. As if on cue, a rainbow beams brighter from behind the clouds, framing the field in idyllic light.

Carroll and Maylott have been avocado aficionados since they moved to Hawaii in 2011 and started working at Kolea Farm in Pupukea, where avocados are grown among other produce. He had just graduated with a degree in agriculture from the University of Vermont, Carroll said, and “I started falling in love with the crop; I love the avocado plant in itself, and I really like the natural system” of farming organically.

They plan to grow five varieties on a large scale, the Keoni, Sharwil, Greengold, Malama and San Miguel. Most are thin-skinned and, from Carroll’s experience, are “tried and true” in quality and marketability. He sells his fruit for $2 to $3 a pound.

The Keoni can grow up to 3 pounds and is very popular with chefs for its flavor, but his favorite is the Malama. “It’s a beautiful tree, the way it grows, and it’s really delicious. It’s buttery and has a high oil content.” It’s also easy to tell when it’s ripe because it starts out green, but turns black when ready, and has a thin skin, he said. “The Malama stays good for about a week after it’s ripe.”

Carroll said these varieties are far superior in flavor and consistency to the ubiquitous Haas, which doesn’t grow as well in Hawaii. The Haas has a thick skin, which makes it difficult to tell how soft it is with a gentle squeeze — “it should be soft, but not over-soft.” One of the ways to tell if it and other varieties are ripe is if the stem tip falls off easily and the fruit underneath it is soft.

Just as there is no sure-fire way to determine peak ripeness, farmers can find it a challenge to judge when to harvest, as avocados must be picked while “mature green” and allowed to ripen afterward.

Signs of maturity depend on variety, and it takes an experienced eye and touch, he said. An avocado should ripen seven to 10 days after picking — giving a farmer just that much time to get them without damage to market.

Carroll said farmers have to expand knowledge about their many varieties and how to tell when they are ripe, not only among customers, but also grocery stores, so they don’t refrigerate or mishandle the avocados. He also mentioned the need for better marketing, also emphasized by Uyehara, who was deputy director of the state agriculture department (1993 to 2002), prior to become Armstrong Produce’s marketing director.

As far back as 2007, a report by the UH College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources said much the same thing: that local avocado growers should be able to replace imports and enhance the state industry, but because of a lack of information and effective marketing strategies, they were unable to meet year-round demand.

Ken Love, executive director of Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers, said the Haas avocado has gained worldwide popularity because of superior marketing. “There’s a misconception that Haas is better.”

Love said he’d like to see more Oahu land devoted to growing avocado, though higher land and labor costs have been a deterrent. The key will be developing various types of avocado, not only for local consumption, but for export, he said. “If we really want to take our industry to the next level, we need to focus on multiple varieties.”

HOW TO MAKE GREAT GUAC

The Keoni avocado, which can grow up to 3 pounds, is Daniel Carroll and Remy Maylott’s favorite variety for making guacamole, as it is so rich and buttery, not much else is needed.

All they do is mix the juice of one Tahitian lime into a mashed avocado, then add salt and pepper to taste and cilantro leaves to garnish. Just one mashed avocado makes about 2 cups.

Visit huaorchards.com or call 690-7473.