The 2011 California avocado season was about two-thirds complete and moving rapidly to a conclusion when The Produce News talked to Ross Wileman, vice president of sales and marketing at Mission Produce Inc. in Oxnard, CA, July 21.

“We are probably 65 percent through the season, picking at a very brisk pace,” he said. “We are probably going to go, in any kind of measurable volume, through about the middle of August, and then it will really taper off.”

Fresh Inc. in Bloomington, CA, handles domestic avocados from California and imported avocados from Chile, Mexico and Peru. Over the next year, in the United States, “we are looking at adding about 20 to 25 percent more volume” than during the 2010-11 season, said Giovanni Cavaletto, vice president of operations. That increase “is going to come from all four countries. California is going to have a bigger crop. Mexico is forecasting a larger crop.” Chile will have a larger crop and may send a larger share of it to the United States. Peru will be new to the U.S.

M&M Farm Inc. in Miami, which markets some 40 different tropical fruits and vegetables under the “M&M Tropicals” brand, is probably the second largest grower of Florida green skin avocados, according to Mark Vertrees, marketing director.

Many of the products, including avocados, are grown by M&M in Florida. Other items are imported, mainly from Central America and South America.

West Pak Avocado Inc. in Temecula, CA, sources Hass avocados for its customers from all of the major growing regions that supply the U.S. market those being California, Mexico, Chile “and now Peru,” said Doug Meyer, vice president of sales and marketing, in a written statement furnished to The Produce News July 27. “All regions play an important role in meeting our customer’s needs, based on their individual preferences for supplying them on a year-round basis.”

“We are sourcing from all of the major suppliers of Hass avocados into the United States,” said Phil Henry, president of Henry Avocado Corp. in Escondido, CA, in a July 21 interview with The Produce News.

McDaniel Fruit Co. in Fallbrook, CA, will be marketing avocados from four countries over the course of the next year. The seasons differ, providing customers with year-round availability, but there is also extensive overlap, giving customers often a choice as to which country of origin they prefer for their fruit.

“And there is customer preference for country of origin,” said President Rankin McDaniel in an interview with The Produce News July 21.