During the current season, mango prices have fallen by 30 to 40 percent due to an overproduction of mangoes in Mexico, Peru, Guatemala, and Costa Rica. "The country was producing more than 3 million boxes per week and to have a fairly good price we must export 2.5 million boxes," stated Xavier Chavez Contreras, the president of the Mango Product System in Michoacan.
He also said that the producers from Michoacan export the fruit from March 15 until May 15, but that Peru and several states from Mexico, such as Chiapas and Oaxaca, were sending mangoes until the first week of April. Each year, the entity produces around 145 thousand tons of mango, 90 thousand tons of which are exported and generate a production value of one thousand million pesos. 82 thousand tons are sent to the United States and the rest to Japan, Canada, and Europe.
According to Chavez Contreras, due to this situation, mango producers and packers are planning a strategy to achieve a fair price that does not involve economic losses. "The offer we have is much greater than the demand we had. We worked very hard and now we want to organize ourselves, otherwise we won't be able to continue working," he said.
The second week after the season started a kilo of mangoes was being marketed for 6 pesos. "We were selling our product for 2 to 2.50 pesos per kilo, so producers were having losses. When prices are good in the national market a kilo goes for 12 to 14 pesos," he added.
Source: quadratin.com.mx