Mexico: U.S. market is good for Ataulfo mango

Elite Mangos is a Mexican company devoted to the export of conventional and organic mangoes (15-18% of total) via airmail to Europe, USA, Japan and Canada. According to Andres Palacios, general manager of the company, "the latter being our strongest market, with a high per capita consumption. Currently, he is negotiating the protocol to allow the export to the Chinese market. "

Palacios said there had been a lot of weather-related problems in production this year, especially for the Kent variety, which has had very low production volumes when compared to last year. "This of course is affecting both export volumes and prices, which have remained stable due to lack of supply." 

"The company’s speciality is shipping by air, which allows us to export tree ripe mangoes," said Andres. "The process of the organic mango depends on the client; some demand it is still green and others prefer it to be ripe. As it is very specialized, we only ship small volumes; 80 tons per season. "

Elite Mangos primarily trades the Haden and Kent varieties, and to a lesser extent, the Athaulf variety. "The Athaulf variety is starting to attract attention in Europe, where it is still not very well known, although the organic product is experiencing further development. The Athaulf’s Brix degrees are very good and it's taste is excellent; it is a mango with no fibres and the Europeans like that very much, "said Andres.

According to the manager, the conventional and organic Athaulf mango is growing exponentially in the United States. "There is no tariff restriction for this mango to enter the European and Canadian market; it must only take a number of simple phytosanitary measures. For America, on the other hand, it must be treated with hot water. "

The firm has its own farms in the state of Michoacán and Nayarit; some of them are certified by Global GAP and others by Primus Labs. Organic production is also certified. "We are in the process of starting new plantings because we have a solid customer base and the volume of our air shipments continues to grow each year," concluded Andres Palacios.

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