AgroFresh promotes post-harvest innovation in avocados with sustainable technologies that optimize water, reduce losses and ensure the quality of fresh fruit to the most demanding markets, highlights Eduardo Rey, regional manager of Pack Line solutions for the company.

With a presence in over 60 countries and a leading portfolio of post-harvest solutions, AgroFresh has established itself as a strategic partner for avocado exporters in Latin America. The company has a clear objective: to preserve the fruit's freshness, ensuring it arrives in optimal condition to the most demanding markets, maximizing profitability while reducing losses, optimizing resources, and meeting the highest food safety standards.

“At AgroFresh, we understand that every stage of the post-harvest process is critical. Our solutions are designed to help exporters reduce losses, extend the shelf life of the fruit, and optimize the use of natural resources,” explains Eduardo Rey, regional manager for post-harvest and packing solutions at AgroFresh.

Technological innovation and resource efficiency

AgroFresh has developed a comprehensive portfolio of products, equipment, and technological platforms that cover the entire avocado lifecycle after harvest. The Control-Tec™ line is a cornerstone of this strategy. It includes the Control-Tec Applicator ULV and the Applicator PLC, which ensure precise application of fungicides, waxes, and coatings thanks to intelligent control systems with touchscreens and flow sensors that adjust dosages to the actual volume of fruit processed.

This innovation has improved the efficiency of applications by over 65% when compared to conventional technologies, thus reducing waste and ensuring better fruit condition at destination.

Along the same lines, the Control TEC Sanitizer allows for the sanitization of cold storage rooms and packing facilities using portable ultrasonic nebulization with peracetic acid, while the Disinfectant technology ensures programmed environmental disinfection, even when personnel are unavailable. The Ultrahumidifier, for its part, maintains optimal relative humidity through microdroplets smaller than 4 microns, without causing buildup, and is adaptable to various storage and retail environments.

According to the Water X-ray study conducted by the Water Scenarios 2030 Foundation, water is an increasingly scarce resource, which is another key issue. Although 70% of the planet's surface is covered by water, only 2.5% is freshwater, and a mere 0.62% is suitable for agricultural and industrial use.

In this context, AgroFresh has developed the TEC ECO WASHER Control, a system that reduces water consumption by 79% compared to traditional methods, optimizes washing, speeds up drying, and improves the subsequent effectiveness of fungicides. In a comparative process and monitoring, this technology reduced consumption from 1,821.3 m³ to 391.1 m³ per season, decreasing from 102.4 liters per ton to just 22 liters, with an estimated savings of US$19,000 annually and a 59% cost reduction per ton processed.

Applied science, digitalization and sustainability

In addition to its equipment, AgroFresh has developed sustainable solutions such as VitaFresh™ Botanicals, an edible, plant-based coating certified vegan by the European Vegetarian Union. This technology protects the avocado's skin, reduces dehydration, and slows down aging, allowing it to retain its market value for longer, even during long shipping routes.

The company has also driven digitalization with the FreshCloud™ platform, which records and centralizes post-harvest applications in real time. This tool offers complete traceability, graphical evidence, and monitoring of critical variables, facilitating compliance with international regulations and strengthening trust with buyers.

The management software complements this ecosystem, allowing the recording of all treatments applied in the packing process and ensuring transparency and food safety at every stage.

SmartFresh™ and the vision for the future

At the heart of AgroFresh's portfolio is SmartFresh™, a 1-MCP-based technology that inhibits ethylene action and delays avocado ripening. Considered the second major post-harvest revolution after conventional refrigeration, SmartFresh™ extends the fruit's shelf life, provides logistical flexibility, and ensures it arrives in optimal condition to distant markets.

It is already in use in countries such as Chile, Peru, and Mexico, and will soon be available in Colombia, where avocados are the second most important crop. Approval of SmartFresh™ in that country will allow the local industry to strengthen its global competitiveness and respond to the growing international demand for fresh, high-quality fruit.

With over 25 years of experience, five global innovation centers, and strategic acquisitions such as Tessara, Pace International, Proteku Europe, and Infruta Chile, AgroFresh has positioned itself as a world leader in post-harvest solutions. Its vision is clear: to lead the transformation of the agribusiness sector through innovation, sustainability, and applied science, ensuring that every avocado arrives fresh, whole, and with added value to the consumer's table.