While Australian mango exporters now have access to the United States market, it's uncertain how many shipments will actually make it to the U.S. Australian exporters can offer American consumers varieties not usually seen in U.S., but competition from other countries and long shipping distances could limit the amount of Australian fruit in the United States.“As far as price point, Peru and Ecuador will be able to get to us cheaper than mangos from Australia,” said Gary Clevenger of Freska Produce International. He added that most of the fruit would probably have to arrive via air, which would increase the price for what's already premium fruit.
“The same thing happened with mangos out of India,” said Clevenger. “All of that fruit had to be brought in by air, so they were expensive mangos.” But he noted that what Australian suppliers can offer is a different flavour profile. Australian sizes can also run larger than those usually found in the United States, so those attributes could overcome the logistical difficulties associated with shipping fruit such a long distance.
“We have to sit back and see where the price point for Australian mangos will be, and whether consumers will absorb that,” said Clevenger. “We also have to wait and see how much interest there is in Australia to ship here, and that all depends on logistical things.”
For more information:
Gary Clevenger
Freska Produce International
+1 805 650 1040