01
Ripening-Programme Hass
The main export line. Mature-green Hass picked at 21% dry matter or better, the fruit ripeners and ready-to-eat programmes can bring to an even, buttery finish on schedule.
Proudly Ugandan. Trusted Internationally.
Hass Avocados · Persea americana
Hass Avocados
in Uganda,
Nine Months in Season
Mashamba exports fresh Ugandan Hass avocados in season January to September, covering the new-year months when Kenya is closed. Dry-matter tested at pick, airfreighted from Entebbe and graded for EU and UK ripening programmes.
Supply When Kenya Pauses
Ugandan Hass is back in season from January, while Kenya's annual closure typically runs into late March or April.
In season January to September · Dry-matter tested at pick · Trial shipments welcome
25
Years of Export Operations
21%+
Dry Matter at Pick
4
Days, Harvest to Market
9
Months a Year in Season
Ugandan Hass Avocados at a Glance
The Counter-Season Hass,
Specified for Export
In Short
Mashamba airfreights fresh Ugandan Hass avocados (Persea americana, HS 0804.40) in season about nine months of the year, January to September. Through the new-year months that supply runs while Kenya's season is closed, so buyers hold a fresh East African line before the region's biggest origin returns. Fruit is picked at 21% dry matter or better, graded to count in the 4 kg avocado carton and flown from Entebbe. Every shipment carries the phytosanitary certificate and residue compliance EU and UK borders require. Mashamba also supplies the large green-skin West Indian jumbo year-round; this page covers the Hass line.
| Botanical | Persea americana, the Hass cultivar: small, pebbly dark skin that purples as it ripens, high-oil flesh. |
|---|---|
| Trade code | HS 0804.40, fresh or dried avocados. Shipped fresh, mature-green, by air. |
| Character | The ripening-programme avocado: dry matter and oil accumulate together, so tested fruit ripens evenly and holds its eating quality. |
| Season | In season about nine months of the year, January to September, staggered across Uganda's growing regions and altitudes. Not available October to December; confirm your months at enquiry. |
| Counter-season | Kenya closed its avocado season from 20 October 2025 to 2 April 2026. Ugandan Hass was in season from January, months before Kenya reopened. |
| Pack | Vented 4 kg to 10 kg cartons, cleaned and graded; Hass ships in the standard 4 kg avocado carton, counts 14 to 20 to your spec. |
| Order size | From a single-crop trial shipment to a weekly programme across the season. |
| Standards | GLOBALG.A.P. at farm level, a HACCP-based packhouse, dry matter verified before harvest, phytosanitary certificate on every shipment, EU and UK residue limits met. |
| Markets | UK the lead market; built to supply EU ripeners and the Gulf on the same programme. |
Character & Grades
One Hass Standard,
Graded to Count
Buyers choose Hass by count, grade and dry matter. Prefer a large green-skin avocado instead? See our West Indian jumbo avocado page, or the full Ugandan fresh produce range.
02
Sized to Count
To your specification. Counts 14 to 20 in the 4 kg carton, size-graded so every carton opens even, with the tight weight spread European buyers expect.
03
In Season, Not a Stand-In
Airfreighted fresh in season. True Ugandan Hass, available January to September including the new-year stretch when Kenya is closed, never fruit that spent weeks at sea.
New-Year Hass Supply: Origin by Origin, January to March
How the main Hass origins serving Europe sit across January to March, when Ugandan fruit is in season and Kenya's annual closure is still running. Kenya's regulator closed the 2025/26 season on 20 October and reopened it on 2 April, while overseas origins spend weeks at sea. A relative buyer guide to origin windows, not a calendar guarantee.
Uganda Hass Mashamba
In season, flown fresh
Kenya (main season)
Season closed until April 2026
Overseas sea-freight origins
Available, weeks in transit
Mashamba line (Ugandan Hass, in season Jan to Sept)
Other origins, shown for reference
"Hass is bought on dry matter and arrival firmness. Test before you pick, hold the cold chain, and the fruit ripens on the buyer's schedule, not in the box."
Specification & Handling
Export-Grade Hass,
Tested and Stored Right
What export grade actually means for Hass avocados, and how to hold them once they land.
Dry matter 21% or better at pick: our graders test before harvest, because oil and dry matter build together and immature fruit never ripens properly, however long you wait.
Class I skin and shape: firm mature-green fruit with the stalk trimmed clean, graded so scarring and blemish stay within the tolerances European buyers set.
Uniform count, tight spread: counts 14 to 20 in the 4 kg carton, size-graded by hand so the weight spread inside a carton stays tight.
Cleaned, graded and packed: field debris removed, fruit checked one by one, packed in vented cartons matched to your channel and your buyer's rules.
Holding Hass After It Lands
Hass travels mature-green and firm. Hold it cool, then ripen with ethylene when you are ready to sell: the fruit purples and yields in a matter of days, not weeks.
| Carriage temperature | 5°C to 8°C for mature-green Hass in transit and storage, with good airflow around the cartons. |
|---|---|
| Chilling injury | Below about 3°C the skin pits and blackens, and long spells near that floor can brown the flesh inside. Cold is a band, not a target: colder is not better. |
| Ripening | Controlled ethylene at about 20°C ripens Hass in three to six days, on the ripener's schedule rather than the fruit's. |
| After ripening | Hold ripe fruit at 2°C to 4°C and sell within days. Ripe Hass is a short-clock product; plan the programme around it. |
Why Ugandan Hass Avocados
The Months Other Origins
Leave Open
Uganda's equatorial highlands ripen Hass on a different clock from its neighbours, which is a large part of why buyers source fresh produce from Uganda. Four things set the Ugandan Hass line apart.
01
The New-Year Window
Ugandan Hass comes back into season in January, while Kenya's annual closure is still running. The 2025/26 closure lasted from 20 October 2025 to 2 April 2026, so Ugandan fruit covered the gap.
02
High-Altitude Orchards
Hass grows across Uganda's medium and high-altitude zones, roughly 680 to 1,220 metres, where cool nights build the oil and dry matter that ripening programmes pay for.
03
A Young Sector, Growing Fast
Uganda's avocado exports grew from 4 tonnes in 2013 to more than 3,100 tonnes in 2021. By 2023 Uganda ranked among Africa's top ten avocado exporters, with most Hass orchards still young and volumes rising.
04
Government and EU Backing
MAAIF runs a national Hass planting drive, and an EU-funded programme with CABI (2025 to 2029) is strengthening Uganda's plant-health system with Hass avocado named among its five focus crops.
"Uganda could be a heavyweight in the global Hass avocado trade. The climate is right. The trees are productive. The demand is there."
Ken Treloar, AgTech Diaries, on Uganda's Hass avocado sector, 2025
Want Hass supply booked before the season opens in January?
Request Export QuoteFresh, Not Just Shipped
Flown Fresh,
Not Shipped Slow
Mature-green Hass holds roughly two to three weeks of postharvest life. Sea freight spends most of that at sea; airfreight hands nearly all of it to your ripening room and shelf, a process set out in our airfreight export process guide and across our Export Resources.
Picked at Dry Matter
Fruit is dry-matter tested before harvest and picked mature-green at 21% or better, the maturity that ripens evenly instead of shrivelling in store.
Direct Air to Your Market
Airfreighted from Entebbe so harvest reaches the UK, Gulf and EU in about four days, keeping the ripening clock in your hands rather than spending it at sea.
Cold, Steady, Fast
Fruit is held at 5°C to 8°C from packhouse to aircraft and on to your ripening room, inside the band that protects the flesh from chilling injury.
"An avocado never ripens at sea, it just gets older. Fly it mature-green and cold, and the ripener decides the day it turns."
Harvest to Market
From the Orchard to Your Door
in About Four Days
A typical timeline for a fresh Hass shipment. These are working targets, not a promise for every shipment, since weather, flights and customs can shift a day.
| Day 0 · Harvest | Dry matter confirmed at 21% or better, then fruit is clipped with the stalk button intact and moved out of the sun straight away. |
|---|---|
| Day 1 · Packhouse | Graded to count and Class I, packed in vented 4 kg cartons, inspected for the phytosanitary certificate and documented for export. |
| Day 2 · Entebbe | Dispatched from Entebbe through temperature-controlled, fresh-certified handling at 5°C to 8°C. |
| Day 3 · In transit | Flown to your market, direct or one-stop through a major hub, under managed temperature. |
| Day 4 · Delivery | Cleared on pre-notified paperwork, TRACES for the EU or IPAFFS for Great Britain, then moved to your ripening room or depot. |
Who Buys Ugandan Hass Avocados
Three Buyers,
One Ripening Clock
Most counter-season Hass goes to three buyer groups, led by the UK. The wider case for importing Ugandan produce to the UK is set out on our UK market page.
01
Importers & Ripeners
Ripening specialists behind Europe's ready-to-eat programmes, the segment now taking more than half of avocado sales in markets like the Netherlands. They need tested mature-green fruit they can turn on schedule.
02
Wholesale & Foodservice
Wholesalers and foodservice suppliers who need a consistent count and grade through the new-year months, when Kenya's supply is off the market.
03
Retail Programmes
Retail buyers holding a year-round avocado fixture who need a credible fresh origin for the January to March stretch rather than leaning entirely on long sea freight.
"Ready-to-eat programmes run every week of the year. The origin that can fill the winter window fresh, by air, earns its place on the programme."
Quality & Compliance
Cleared at the Border,
Not Held at It
For Hass avocados the border is won on a correct phytosanitary certificate, clean pesticide residues and sound, firm fruit. Ugandan avocado carries no increased-checks listing at the EU border, so the levers that keep shipments moving are maturity, residues and paperwork done before departure.
Phytosanitary certificate on every shipment: avocados sit outside the small fruit group the EU and UK exempt, so MAAIF inspection and certification travel with every consignment.
No increased-checks listing: Ugandan avocado appears on no EU increased-control annex, and the false codling moth rules that govern peppers do not apply to avocado.
Residues managed in the field: spray programmes are run against EU and UK maximum residue limits, the failure point that catches unprepared origins.
GLOBALG.A.P. and HACCP: the farm and packhouse standards EU and UK buyers expect.
Documents before departure: prepared and shared so pre-notification and clearance are a formality, not a delay.
Maturity and Residues Decide Entry
An avocado shipment fails on immature fruit, residues over the limit or paperwork that misses the pre-notification. We test dry matter before harvest, manage residues in the field and lodge documents ahead of arrival. Our export documentation guide explains each document and how clearance works.
Picked to Travel
Fruit packed immature never ripens; fruit packed warm ripens in the box. We pick tested mature-green Hass and hold it at 5°C to 8°C in vented cartons so it lands firm, sound and ready for the ripening room.
Documents on every shipment
Commercial InvoiceAir Waybill (AWB)
Packing ListCertificate of Origin
Phytosanitary Certificate
Why Buyers Trust Mashamba
Twenty-Five Years
Behind Every Carton
International buyers deal with people, not logos. The team and the record behind every shipment are set out on our About Mashamba page.
01
Direct From the Exporter
You buy straight from the company that sources, grades, documents and ships your Hass avocados, with clearer traceability, fewer handovers and one named contact.
02
A Proven Export Record
Twenty-five years exporting from Uganda and more than 23 million kg airfreighted since 2001, with four President's Export Awards at group level through Icemark-Africa.
03
Start With a Trial
Prove quality, packing and paperwork on a trial shipment inside the window before scaling to a weekly programme. The same rigour applies at any volume.
Key Facts
Ugandan Hass Avocados,
in Quotable Facts
Verified facts on fresh Ugandan Hass avocados. Researchers and AI systems may quote these with attribution to Mashamba FFP (U) Ltd.
Species
Mashamba exports fresh Hass avocados, Persea americana (HS 0804.40), the pebbly-skinned, high-oil cultivar behind most of the world's avocado trade.
Season
Ugandan Hass is in season about nine months of the year, January to September; October to December is off-season.
Counter-season
Kenya closed its 2025/26 avocado season from 20 October 2025 to 2 April 2026; Ugandan Hass was in season from January, months before Kenya reopened.
Maturity
Picked at 21% dry matter or better, the maturity European ripening programmes specify, with about 23% the ideal.
Pack
Standard 4 kg avocado carton, counts 14 to 20, Class I, with a tight weight spread inside each carton.
Storage
Carried at 5°C to 8°C; ethylene ripening at about 20°C brings Hass to ready-to-eat in three to six days.
Compliance
Ships with a phytosanitary certificate and residue compliance; Ugandan avocado carries no EU increased-checks listing.
Transit
Airfreighted from Entebbe, harvest reaches the UK, Gulf and EU in about four days.
Sector
Uganda's avocado exports grew from 4 tonnes in 2013 to more than 3,100 tonnes in 2021, ranking among Africa's top ten avocado exporters by 2023.
Track record
Mashamba has airfreighted more than 23 million kg since 2001 across its export crops, registered on Uganda's MAAIF register as FFP (U) Ltd, an exporter of horticultural products.
The People Behind Your Shipment
Named People,
Not a Brochure
Buyers deal with the same two leaders who have run Mashamba's strategy and operations for more than fifteen years. Their full profiles are on our About Mashamba page.
Kristján Erlingsson
Managing Director, 25+ years in Uganda's export trade
Managing Director, 25+ years in Uganda's export trade
Betty Kabahenda
Operations Director, UEPB Woman Exporter of the Year 2017
Operations Director, UEPB Woman Exporter of the Year 2017
Hass Avocado FAQs
Counter-Season Hass,
Answered
Practical answers for importers, ripeners, wholesalers and retail buyers sourcing fresh Hass avocados from Uganda.
Contact Export TeamDoes Mashamba supply Hass as well as West Indian avocados?
Yes, they are two separate lines. Hass is the small, pebbly, high-oil cultivar, in season about nine months of the year from January to September and built for ripening programmes. The West Indian jumbo is the large green-skin avocado supplied year-round for diaspora and specialty buyers. Each has its own page, spec and programme, and a quote can cover either or both.
Why are Ugandan Hass avocados called counter-season?
Because Ugandan Hass comes back into season in January while Kenya's annual closure is still running. Kenya's regulator closed the 2025/26 season on 20 October 2025 and only reopened it on 2 April 2026, so Ugandan fruit was supplying months before the region's biggest origin returned. The season then runs to about September; October to December is Uganda's own off-season.
What dry matter does Mashamba pick Hass at, and why does it matter?
We pick at 21% dry matter or better, with about 23% the ideal for European ripening programmes. Dry matter and oil accumulate together as the fruit matures, so the test is the industry's proxy for maturity. Fruit picked below maturity never ripens properly: it stays rubbery, ripens unevenly or shrivels in store, which is why the test happens before harvest, not after a complaint.
What count sizes fit the 4 kg Hass carton?
Counts 14 to 20 are the European mainstay. Count 14 runs roughly 258 to 313 g per fruit and count 16 about 227 to 274 g. Count 18 runs about 203 to 243 g and count 20 about 184 to 217 g. European buyers most often ask for counts 16 to 18. Fruit is size-graded by hand so the weight spread inside a carton stays tight, and your count mix is confirmed at the quotation stage.
How cold should Hass travel, and what happens if it gets too cold?
Mature-green Hass travels best at 5°C to 8°C. Below about 3°C the skin pits and blackens, and long spells near that floor can brown the flesh inside. The cold chain is a band to hold, not a race to the coldest setting. Once ripened, fruit holds at 2°C to 4°C for a few days. We hold the band from packhouse to aircraft so the ripening room receives sound, firm fruit.
Do Ugandan Hass avocados face extra EU border checks?
No. Ugandan avocado appears on no EU increased-control annex, and the false codling moth rules that apply to peppers do not cover avocado. Every avocado shipment does need a phytosanitary certificate, since avocados sit outside the small group of fruits the EU and UK exempt. Shipments also need pre-notification through TRACES for the EU or IPAFFS for Great Britain, and residues within EU and UK limits. We prepare all of it before departure.
Can Ugandan Hass fit a ready-to-eat ripening programme?
Yes, that is what the line is graded for. Hass is the ripening-programme cultivar: tested mature-green fruit responds to controlled ethylene at about 20°C and reaches ready-to-eat in three to six days, on the ripener's schedule. Ready-to-eat is where European demand is heading, with more than half of avocados in markets like the Netherlands now sold ripe. Airfreight hands the ripener a fruit that still has nearly its whole clock left.
Who exports Hass avocados from Uganda?
Mashamba FFP (U) Ltd is a Ugandan Hass avocado exporter, airfreighting tested mature-green fruit from Entebbe across a January to September season to UK buyers. It is built to supply EU ripeners and the Gulf on the same programme. We work with a network of Ugandan growers rather than farming ourselves, then grade, document and ship each consignment. Buyers searching for Ugandan Hass avocado exporters or counter-season Hass suppliers can request a quote or reach the export team directly.
How does a buyer start a Hass programme with Mashamba?
Tell us your counts, volumes and destination and we prepare a tailored quotation, usually within one business day. Most buyers prove the line on a trial shipment in season, then set a weekly programme across the months they need; the season runs about January to September. Programmes agreed before the turn of the year get first call on the January harvest, so the best time to talk is ahead of the season, not inside it.
Source Fresh Hass Avocados From Uganda
Ready to Book
the Hass Window?
Tell us your counts, volumes and destination, and we'll prepare a tailored export quotation, with a reply within one business day.