Brazilian mangoes losing market share to Mexican supply in the US

“Last year was difficult for us in terms of mango exports as the Brazilian production of the variety Tommy Atkins is mostly used for export to the United States. However, slowly Mexico is absorbing the window that was traditionally the season for Brazil. We lost August over the years, however they are slowly taking over September too”, explains Altamir G. Martins of Finobrasa Agroindustrial in Brazil.

He continues the explanation: “The Northern area of Mexico (North of the State of Sinaloa) is free from fruit flies, so the production costs are low. In addition, the weather has been very light for them. This resulted in more Keitt variety in the US market during the months August and September. The US market has been changing over the years, which means fibreless varieties such as Keitt, Kent and Palmer are more demanded nowadays.”

The Brazilian export season of mango into the US normally runs from August till November. “Nowadays it has shortened to only October and November. Depending on the Ecuadorian season it can be even shorter than this. People that are used to shipping the bigger volumes at the beginning of the season have lost a lot of money. The company Finobrasa fortunately has two production regions, of which one is in the North. This region has its bigger volumes later on in the season, so we recovered some of very bad first months.”

He explains that this is something that producers have to keep in mind for the future, as he expects the months August and September will only get more difficult for the Tommy Atkins from Brazil.

Europe
The European market has been stable according to Altamir. “Nothing changed much from the year before. It’s quite a stable market in terms of fibreless mango varieties. October and November were good months and prices were at the same level as the year before. From December on we steadily decrease of volumes exported to the European market. As from this moment Peru starts their season. Overall, our European season has been good.”

“Brazil is exploring new markets such as Canada, Korea and Hong Kong. Every year Brazil is looking for new markets for export. Some Brazilian growers have exported some mango by air to South Korea and Hong Kong. Volumes are still low, but I see great potential for these new markets for the future”, concludes Altamir.

For more information:
Altamir G. Martins - Diretor de Operações
Finobrasa Agroindustrial
Brazil
T: +55 84 3335-2216
E: contato@finoagro.com.br
www.finoagro.com.br