Red Tip Avocados Arrive on the Market

Article by: Hari Yellina

Red tip avocados have arrived on the market, after the continued success of the classic red wax tip banana. The first red tip avocados were sold at Perfection Fresh in Sydney Markets in April. Blarney Enterprise, as part of their Ecoganic line, is the company behind the avocados. When you buy a trademark wax tip avocado or banana, you can rest certain that your money is helping to protect on-farm ecosystem restoration as well as off-farm natural assets such as reefs, rainforests, and waterways. Over the last 18 months, owners Clinton and Ben Scott, along with system developer Frank Sciacca, have pioneered the Ecoganic farming technique in avocado production on their Bundaberg farm in Queensland.

Ecoganic farming promotes ecosystem restoration and carbon sequestration, both of which are important climate change solutions for agriculture’s future. To ensure that there is little influence on the ecosystem, the Ecoganic technique includes fortnightly biodiversity monitoring, six monthly audits, and annual carbon testing. With the 2022 harvest, red tip avocados will test and target the Australian market, with a strong concentration on exports to the Asia Pacific region in 2023. Ecoganics, according to Mr. Sciacca, focuses on natural equilibrium. “It’s about getting rid of synthetic or organic coping strategies that often have unintended repercussions and decrease soil health,” Mr Sciacca explained.

He claims that for a long time, insects and organisms have been devouring other insects and organisms and replenishing carbon in the soil. According to Angelo Coco of Invention Pathways in Townsville, Australia, the pandemic forced businesses to reconsider their sustainability. “Social and health issues are driving customer desire for better, more sustainable alternatives,” Mr Coco explained. To distinguish them in supermarkets, the red tip bananas are dipped in a bright red food grade wax. The Great Barrier Reef Foundation has only authorised red tip bananas because the growing practise aims for zero impact on neighbouring rivers and the reef. In 1998, Frank and Dianne Sciacca started growing red tip bananas in north Queensland with the goal of “farming with nature.” Mr Sciacca explained, “We wanted to farm differently, with nature at the heart of what we do.” “Nature maintains equilibrium, and recognising the natural capital you have accessible allows you to eliminate any dangerous compounds.”

“The end result is an environmentally friendly agricultural system that yields considerably superior bananas, just as nature intended.” The Sciaccas, according to Great Barrier Reef Foundation managing director Anna Marsden, “are leading the way in addressing farming methods that have the potential to damage not only the farm environment but also off-farm areas like the Great Barrier Reef.” Perfection Fresh has exclusive marketing rights to red tip Ecoganic bananas, which are regarded as “sweet and creamy,” “hard and fleshy, allowing for easy slicing,” and “sweet and creamy.” “You can tell if bananas have been produced in harmony with nature when they have a red wax tip,” Mr Sciacca said.