The Brazilian mango season is wrapping up shortly and production is set to begin out of Ecuador. In terms of fruit volume, Brazil had a good year, only affected by cooler temperatures which have been seen across the South American mango growing regions. This has resulted in slower fruit growth and slightly smaller sizes, which is forecast for Ecuador.
"The Brazil season is finishing up, with the majority of remaining fruit destined for Europe," said Rick Nagelberg, of Panorama Produce. "Brazil had a strong year with high volume and overall good quality. We are now transitioning into the Ecuador season until Christmas when the Peru season takes over. We expect to see a fair amount of smaller sizes due to colder growing conditions across much of South America."
Market strengthens
After Mexico had a very big and late season, the market flattened out for the Brazil deal. However, the market has strengthened in recent weeks, with the only foreseeable issue being the dearth in larger size fruit.
"The market has strengthened in the last 2 weeks," Nagelberg said. "Mexico had a very late season with high volumes. Their season extended until the end of September which is very, very late. This increased Mexican volume took a toll on the Brazil market. Now that supplies from Brazil are dropping off, prices have picked up. However, due to the cooler weather, we expect that Ecuador will be light on larger fruit this year. Sizes will be peaking on the 9s, 10s and 12s with fewer in the 6s, 7s and 8s. Therefore, there may be competitive pricing for the smaller sizes. As it stands now, contract pricing is $5.50 - $6.50 and up to $8.50 on the open market."
Strong demand in North America
Mangoes continue to enjoy a surge in popularity in North America, thanks to marketing campaigns as well as the fact that mangoes are seen more as a standard line of fruit, rather than a specialty item. Wider usage across markets is a contributing factor to the fruit gaining in popularity among a broader category of consumers.
"The North American market is seeing a lot of increased demand," Nagelberg continued. "There's been very good movement and supplies continue to increase to a point where mangoes are reaching markets that previously were untapped. This is the result of more and more exposure and usage. Now mangoes are becoming more mainstream and more people are buying them."
For more information:
Rick Nagelberg
Panorama Produce Sales
Tel: 914-381-6220