Mango growers of Michoacan are concerned because the fruit's price has dropped by more than 60% in the past two weeks in the international market, when compared to 2014 .
Xavier Chavez Contreras, president of the State Council of Mango Producers of Michoacan (CEPROMICH) said the export quality mango was being sold between 2 and 2.50 pesos per kilogram, just like it is being sold in the National markets. In the past weeks the mango was being sold for up to 5 pesos a kilo, "which is nothing compared to previous years, when it was sold for up to 10 pesos per kilo," he added.
He said there had been a decline in prices because the largest buyer country, which is the United States, is importing the fruit from other parts of the world, especially from Guatemala, Costa Rica and Honduras.
As a result, he said, three out of the six packages of CEPROMICH are working while the rest are stopped.
"Those that are working are the ones that are sending mango to Europe and Japan because the other ones send their fruit to the United States and right now there is no demand for it, hence they are stopped," he said.
He also said that the current prices could lead to losses as there is the risk that the ripe fruit could spoil. "About 15% of the farmers who still have fruit could be affected by this situation," he lamented. In total, there are 4,250 mango producers in 12 different municipalities, he stated.
According to Chavez, the last time they had been affected by a decrease in purchases and prices was three years ago. This situation, he stressed, will affect the producers' economy because they are only making enough money to recover their investments.
"We started the season well, but now we're having a really bad time due to prices, which are way down as there is no demand," he stressed.
He also noted that producers were discouraged by this situation, especially those who bet on organic mango. "We have 3,500 acres of organic mango which is also being affected by this situation. We had plans to increase our production to 5,000 hectares but we'll have to wait and see what happens," he said.
In 2014, mango production amounted to 130,000 tons, 65,000 tons of which were exported. 70% of exports were destined to the United States and the rest to Canada, Asia, Central and South America.
Even though expectations are that mango exports will increase this year to 70,000 tons, producers wouldn't make a profit because of the low prices.
Source: La Voz de Michoacan