When the final snow survey for the year was taken in early May in California’s mountains, the snowpack was only 17 percent of normal, which meant California farmers were not going to get their full allocation of water.

At the time, the California Department of Water Resources predicted the water projects would deliver 35 percent of the contracted water allocation, but that has since been scaled back to 20 percent, with only 10 percent expected next year under normal rain conditions. Anything less than normal is expected to result in a zero allocation from the water projects.

Demand for avocados is seeing significant growth in the United States and in the global market as well. That increased demand has enabled McDaniel Fruit Co. in Fallbrook, CA, to experience business growth for its California fruit as well as for its import programs.

“Of course, we are a U.S.-based company out of California, and our California program has continued to enjoy, just like the rest of the avocado industry, great growth in demand” from existing and new customers, said company President Rankin McDaniel Sr.

With new hires in place, Avocados from Mexico (AFM) Chief Executive Officer Tim O’Connor said the team is “knee-deep in the swamp” in developing a new promotional program which will be rolled out in September. “We are in the throes of the refinement of ideas,” he added.

At Giumarra Agricom International LLC in Escondido, CA, “we are continuing to expand upon our services capacity, offering more distribution points and a greater variety of services at the distribution points from ripening to bagging to special packs,” said Bruce Dowhan, vice president and general manager.

The company now has distribution points for its products in Los Angeles, Escondido and Ventura, CA, as well as in Nogales, AZ, McAllen and Laredo, TX, Miami, Atlanta, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Kentucky and Chicago, Dowhan said.

Del Rey Avocado Co. Inc. has recently completed “a major remodel” of its packinghouse in California, according to Robert (Bob) Lucy, president of the company.

Del Rey has been operating out of the same facility for many years, and had outgrown the existing space, but was unable to enlarge the facility’s footprint due to space restraints on the site. However, “we were able to go up quite a bit, and we basically doubled our storage, which is just wonderful,” he said.

Brooks Tropicals LLC in Homestead, FL, has been growing “SlimCado” brand green-skin avocados for over 80 years in southern Florida. “Avocados are usually low volume one year, high volume the next. But these last couple of years have been more on the high side,” said Marketing Director Mary Ostlund in a written statement to The Produce News.

So far, the 2013 season is “looking good,” she said.