Despite the harsh drought that affected the country for almost 14 months, mango production continues and producers expect to double exports this year. This has many people thinking that the country's mango production is having an awakening, said the president of the Banileja Mango Growers Association (Abapromango), Andres Mejia.
In 2015 the country exported more than 14,000 kilograms of mango worth approximately 17.5 million dollars. The country has about 5,300 hectares and 1,500 organized commercial plantations devoted to this production, distributed mainly in the southern region of the country (Peravia, San Cristobal, Azua, San Juan, Barahona, and Neyba).
The President of the Dominican Mango Cluster (PROMANGO), Rafael Leger, agreed with Mejia, and said that the rains in April and May this year had saved this year's production and would allow them to have an abundant mango harvest.
This boom in production is not a fluke. Producers and the Government have spent much time, effort, and investment to automatize the fields and to create demand for this fruit in the European Union, the United States, Canada, Japan, and the Caribbean islands.
An example of these efforts is the realization of the Expo Mango 2016, a festival where the country exhibits its best fruits and the latest technologies in production.
"Expo Mango 2016 is an activity that promotes and encourages the production, processing, marketing and consumption of Dominican mango locally and internationally. This festival exhibits the genetic diversity and technological innovations of this crop. Besides being a business forum aimed at promoting exchanges between the different sectors involved in the production, marketing and processing of mango, this activity intends to promote ecological tourism to Bani, the Mango Capital," said Mejia.
Details
This year's theme is Sustainable technology for competitiveness. Expo Mango 2016 will be held at central park of Bani between June 9 and 13, the month of peak production. The fair has been held in Bani for the past 12 years because the prevailing weather conditions in the area and its surrounding allow producers to achieve an optimal fruit quality, that has a great amount of sugar and that is free of pests and diseases.
The visitors to the fair will have the opportunity of getting to know the different mango varieties in the country and the technologies available for the promotion of this culture. There will also be business tables, cooking and painting contests, and visitors will be shown visitors how producers produce and harvest mangoes.
Source: listindiario.com