"Mango market at a turning point"

The market situation for mangoes was bad for a long time. "We had a period of a lot of excess production, but now Peru is definitely off of the market after a long and difficult season," says Henk van der Meij of Hars & Hagebauer. "Due to the bad weather conditions the Brazilian season is difficult and the West African supply is also past its peak."

"From West Africa, Ivory Coast is in the final stages and the season is partially being picked up by Mali. The supply from Senegal is also missing from the scene. Every reason to assume that the supply will be considerably less. You could almost forget that there can be a period of scarcity in the mango market, but it's on its way. It is good for the balance in the market, however," says the importer.

"All in all the market will have to get used to a different price level. A sales price of 5 Euro is in the picture again and I can't rule out a further rise in price," continues Henk. "But if you see how labour intensive the mango harvest is, the recent prices are clearly scandalous."


Left: the men cut the mangoes from the trees and the women lift the heavy boxes. Right: The whole family works on the harvest

He says the demand for mangoes is undoubtedly good. "Mangoes have become mainstream. The entire European market used to be saturated with a supply of 250 containers, but those days have gone and the market can now absorb large volumes. Of course there will be more competition from summer fruit over the coming weeks, but I expect us to be on the precipice of a good period."

For more information:
Henk van der Meij
Hars & Hagebauer
Handelsweg 35
2988 DB Ridderkerk
Tel: 0031 (0) 180-745100
henk@harshagebauer.nl
www.harshagebauer.nl