There is debate over the launch date of the mango marketing season in the Ivory Coast. Whilst officials have chosen the 8th April, producers would prefer it to begin later, on at least the 15th April. According to the producers, the authorities have been misled by exporters who are in a hurry to completer their work in the Ivory Coast in order to go on to Mali, Burkina Faso and Senegal.
According to the mango producer’s spokesman, Kisseliminan Touré, the 8th April is too early for the season to be carried out under the best conditions. “The mangoes are not yet ripe. The second round of phytosanitary products for treating orchards given for free by the President of the Republic arrived on the 25th March at the regional department for agriculture in Korhogo, and producers are only just receiving them now. Also, flowering of orchards was considerably late this year compared to previous years” he explains.
According to another producer, Soro Tena, precipitating the launch of the marketing season would affect the quality of production and this could cost them access to the European market as the mangoes would not comply with the requirements in terms of quality from Brussels. This situation would wipe out efforts from the government who invested almost 2 billion CFA francs into freely distributing products to protect the plants from fruit fly.
According to the Ivory Coast’s Minister of Agriculture, the country’s production reached 20,475 tons in 2014, making them Africa’s leading producer, and the world’s third largest producer behind Brazil and Peru.