For years, the start of the Chilean season in North America was plagued by a familiar problem: the first shipments arrived with inconsistent dry matter content, leading to complaints about poor ripening. The eagerness to secure the best prices prompted early harvests in orchards where the fruit never ripens evenly, especially in shaded orchards where the shade slows dry matter development, weakens the skin, and increases rot.

Over time, the industry organized this process, and the Avocado Committee professionalized the release of orchards, improving the quality of the early season. But Peru's entry into the early window changed the schedule: to avoid competing with their fruit, Chile started later, ensuring better dry matter content and a more stable post-harvest.

This season disrupted that balance. The first Chilean shipments had to wait weeks in cold storage while Peru extended its exceptional harvest. That extra time in the cold revealed fragility: reddish ripening, dehydration, and black veins in the flesh. The Chilean harvest faced pressure without having made any agronomic errors; the market simply moved differently.

In Europe, the late window has also shifted. Mediterranean fruit has moved into January and February, leaving more room for the Chilean late window and thus avoiding competition with local fruit.

And with Peru now recovered—no longer impacted by El Niño—the high early volumes are returning, inevitably affecting the start of the Chilean harvest. Everything indicates that Chile will have to start later, leave more fruit on the trees, and harvest quickly to ensure fruit set and pruning in November and December.

However, any plan is disrupted if an opportunity arises in the United States. This happened this year: those who shipped early to the North American market obtained better prices than in Europe. The Mexican market, exposed to climate risks, may open up opportunities that Chile must be able to recognize and capitalize on quickly.

Quality isn't solely determined by the calendar. Dark orchards, excess nitrogen, sensitivity to cold, and even the lunar cycle can determine whether fruit arrives firm or ends up bruised. This year made that clear: a good harvest can be ruined in cold storage if the conditions aren't right.

Meanwhile, Peru is making progress. Its management practices have improved, harvesting is less rushed, and dry matter production is better controlled. If they continue on this path, their reputation will grow, just as it did with Chile when it established its harvest window.

Rootstocks are also redefining strategies. Dusa requires early harvesting to avoid biennial bearing and loss of fruit size; Antillean, Mexican, and Zutano rootstocks allow for longer fruit handling and staggered harvests. Chile no longer has a single harvest window, but several, determined by plant material, sunlight, competition, and global demand.

In orchards with Dusa clonal rootstock, its good size should be taken advantage of and harvested early since it tends to have strong biennial bearing after a high load, while Antillean and Mexican seed rootstocks can prolong the harvest by showing less biennial bearing.