In less than three months, 1000+ members of the global avocado community will descend upon Auckland, New Zealand, for the 10th World Avocado Congress, taking place from 2-5 April 2023.
Jen Scoular, CEO of New Zealand Avocado and President of the World Avocado Congress Committee says the number of attendees to date is incredible testament as to how highly regarded the congress is amongst the global avocado community.
“We can’t wait to welcome the brightest minds in avocados to our shores; international growers, researchers, marketers, retailers, tech innovators, investors and more. The congress is an incredible opportunity to showcase our avocados and raise visibility of New Zealand on the world produce stage, while also demonstrating our differentiated story to grow value and volume into developing markets,” says Ms Scoular.
“That said, the World Avocado Congress is much bigger than avocados from New Zealand. It provides a once in a lifetime opportunity to sell not just the avocado industry but the New Zealand experience. We want to ensure visitors get a real taste of New Zealand, a flavour for our integrity, our innovation, our openness. How great will Auckland feel with that many people visiting, many who have never been in NZ before, wining and dining in the city?!”
Twenty-seven countries are represented amongst the almost 1000 avocado stakeholders attending, with more than half coming from outside of New Zealand and Australia. The World Avocado Congress will be one of the first and largest global trade events to be held in New Zealand following the opening of borders after the pandemic.
A core focus for the next World Avocado Congress is to address how sustainable the global avocado industry is across people, environment and economics.
“The theme for the 10th World Avocado Congress is Respectful; respect for people, respect for environment and respect for our future. Respect for people and the land plays a special part in Aotearoa New Zealand’s identity, it underpins who we are as a people and a nation. While the term ‘sustainability’ has become a trendy word in recent years, it’s essential we demonstrate a committed, and not tokenistic, approach. To ensure the sustainable growth of the global avocado industry, we all need play our part in this global conversation.”
The programme for the congress will be announced shortly. The congress will include a three day academic programme with international keynote speakers and three programme streams covering a wide range of avocado topics from breeding and genomics, to agritech innovation, pest and diseases, country reports, sustainability and more.
“Since 2015, New Zealand Avocado has been wanting to host a World Avocado Congress. That dream became a reality in 2019 when we won the rights to host the next congress, beating Mexico, the largest avocado exporter in the world. Over the past few years, our team have worked incredibly hard to promote the congress across the world. With only a matter of weeks to go, the countdown to the congress is well and truly on!”
Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash
