A commercial buyer's guide to sourcing wholesale avocados

Start with variety and intended use

The same carton can be right for a ripener and wrong for a processor. Decide who uses the fruit and how before choosing a variety. Hass, with skin that darkens as it ripens, dominates international trade; green-skin varieties ripen without that colour change and are traded in some markets. Name the variety, and say whether substitutes are acceptable.

Maturity and ripening stage: how to specify them

Maturity is measured at harvest — most commonly as minimum dry matter (or oil content), which correlates with eating quality. The UNECE avocado standard and the Codex avocado standard set minimum maturity requirements by variety; many contracts set a stricter value. Write the threshold, the test method, the sampling rate per lot and who performs the test.

Ripening is what happens after harvest, in the ripening room or the supply chain. If you buy pre-conditioned or ready-to-eat fruit, state the target stage at delivery using a firmness measurement or a named ripeness scale, and agree how it is checked. If you ripen yourself, ask for fruit that has not been pre-conditioned and for uniform maturity within each lot.

Takeaway: Two numbers do most of the work: dry matter at harvest and firmness (or ripeness stage) at delivery.

Size, count and tolerances

• Express size as count per carton plus the carton net weight it refers to — a count is meaningless without the weight
• Alternatively, use a weight band per fruit in grams with the size code of the standard you cite
• State acceptable counts and the mix you can take (one count per pallet, or mixed counts)
• Set tolerances per lot: % off-size, % off-class, maximum decay or internal defects at arrival
• Say whether uniformity within a carton is required (it usually is for retail)

Quality evidence: verified facts vs supplier claims

Separate what has been checked from what a supplier says. Both are useful, but only one can settle a dispute.

Takeaway: Ask for evidence per lot, not per supplier; a good audit last year says little about this container.

Pack formats and palletisation

• Carton type and net weight, single- or two-layer, and whether trays or bags are needed for retail
• Label content and language: variety, class, count, origin, packer, lot code
• Pallet type, cartons per pallet, height limit and corner boards — matched to your ripening rooms and racking
• Ventilation alignment so air reaches the fruit during cooling and ripening
• Pallet and carton identifiers, ideally GS1-compatible so they scan in your systems

Origin and seasonal availability

Avocados are produced in many countries in both hemispheres, which is why year-round supply is possible — but timing differs by origin, region, variety and year. This guide deliberately does not publish a calendar. Use official statistics such as FAOSTAT for production context, and ask each exporter for their expected window for your variety with the date and source of the statement. Our guide to planning a year-round supply calendar shows how to combine origins and plan overlaps.

Also confirm market access: some origin–destination pairs require specific phytosanitary protocols or approved packhouses, and these change.

Ripening, handling and lot traceability

• Transport temperature range agreed with the exporter for that variety, maturity and transit time
• Whether the fruit has been pre-conditioned, and if so with what target
• Your own ripening capacity — rooms, throughput and days needed — or the ripening service you will use
• Maximum time from harvest to loading and from arrival to ripening
• One lot code from orchard to pallet so a problem can be isolated without rejecting a whole container

Takeaway: If you need ripening rooms or cold storage rather than fruit, that is an infrastructure question for our specialist platform ColdMatch.

Destination documents and logistics

Typical documents include a phytosanitary certificate issued by the exporting country's plant-protection organisation under the IPPC framework, commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading or air waybill, and a certificate of origin where a trade preference is used. Import permits, food-safety registrations, residue limits and labelling rules depend on the destination and change over time. Confirm them with the importing country's authority, your customs broker and your inspection provider before the first shipment. The farm-to-port checkpoints guide covers the handoffs in detail.

Copyable avocado specification checklist

Copy this list into your RFQ or specification sheet and answer every line. Write "unknown" rather than guessing.

• Variety; substitutes accepted (yes/no, which)
• End use: ripening, retail, food service, processing
• Minimum dry matter (or oil) at harvest; test method; samples per lot; who tests
• Pre-conditioned: yes/no; target firmness or ripeness stage at delivery
• Count(s) per carton and carton net weight; mixed counts allowed
• Quality class and standard (e.g. UNECE FFV-42 or Codex CXS 197-1995), plus stricter customer terms
• Tolerances: off-size, off-class, decay, internal defects at arrival
• Pack, labels, label language, pallet configuration
• Acceptable origins and alternates; market-access protocol confirmed
• Transport mode and temperature range; logger per pallet or container
• Lot coding and traceability records required
• Documents confirmed for the destination
• Volume per shipment, cadence, total per year or season; first and last arrival
• Incoterms® rule and named place; currency (USD by default); inspection point and claims procedure

Sample RFQ field table

An illustrative example of how a completed request might read. The values are placeholders to show the format, not market data or a recommendation.

How to compare offers on the same basis

1. Normalise every offer to the same variety, count, carton net weight and class.
2. Convert to the same Incoterms® rule and named place, and the same currency.
3. Check that maturity and condition terms match — an offer with no dry-matter commitment is not comparable to one with it.
4. Account for transit time and expected ripening losses by origin, using your own arrival history where you have it.
5. Treat offers that differ on specification as alternatives, not as cheaper or dearer versions of the same product.

How the review works

1. Submit the checklist through the produce sourcing request.
2. Our team reviews completeness, scope and programme value — assisted sourcing applies from USD 250,000 in total per year or season, not per shipment.
3. Suppliers that appear to fit are approached by our team and their information is checked before anything is presented.
4. You receive comparable offers; screened introductions happen only after review and with your approval. Buyers and suppliers then verify and contract directly.

What the platform does not do

Global B2B Group does not grow, pack, ripen, ship or export avocados, is not the exporter of record, does not certify or inspect, holds no stock and does not guarantee availability, quality, price, delivery or regulatory approval.

Frequently asked questions