The supply of mangoes is starting to loosen up. "It's mostly 10s and smaller, which is what everybody has a lot of. The 6s, 7s are actually pretty short and 8s as well," says Jesse Garcia of LA Produce Distributors, who notes that Guatemala is also shipping the fruit along with Mexico. Guatemala should wrap up towards the end of May, then leave Mexico as the major supplier.
In terms of varieties, there are some Ataulfo mangos shipping but there are also Tommy Atkins available right now.
"A strange year"
In all, Garcia says it's a strange year in mangos. "The market has really stayed up there in pricing compared to what we saw last year. At this time last year, the market was not this strong. It's just now starting to drop again on 10s and 12s," he says, noting that Peru and Ecuador were short on fruit this year. Last year the market did see lower pricing in the single digits–this year throughout April for example, pricing has been in the double digits. "It's kind of unheard of."
Looking ahead though, he says the market is starting to soften slowly and has already on 10s and 12s where pricing is around $4.50-$4.75 from Texas on Mexican fruit. "I think the large fruit will follow suit and come down as well," says Garcia.
For more information:
Jesse Garcia
LA Produce Distributors
Tel: +1 (562) 448-5555
jgarcia@laproducedistributors.com
www.laproducedistributors.com