Mango supply from Mexico is good and consistent right now. "We went through a bit of a shortage. We're going to see a good supply of red mangoes but yellow mangoes are going to be a bit spotty in supply," says Gary Clevenger of Freska Produce. "There used to be plenty of big fruit but now it's going to be more on the smaller side–like 18s and 20s instead of 10s, 12s and 14s."
That yellow fruit will be short until the transition to newer northern parts of the growing regions such as Nayarit and Sinaloa in Mexico happens. This is still a few weeks away.
While Mexico is the predominant shipper of mangoes right now, there is some smaller volume from countries such as Guatemala, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and Haiti that is available on the East Coast. "It's only a small amount of fruit from there though and everybody wants Mexican fruit right now," says Clevenger, adding that supply overall looks fairly similar to this time last year with about 80 million lbs. of fruit shipping year to date.
Promotions ahead
As for demand, it's good too, particularly with Cinco de Mayo just ahead. "Things have been moving well. There are a lot of ads in place for both mangoes and avocados for Cinco de Mayo and then right after that, there's Mother's Day and Memorial Weekend," says Clevenger. "Demand is always good at this time of year when the weather warms up."
The only thing that could possibly impact demand by competing for shelf space will be the cherries and stone fruit arriving imminently from California.
Meanwhile, pricing is a bit higher than this time last year. "I have a feeling that things are going to start leveling out. Pricing has been very good up until this point but with more supply comes some lower pricing," says Clevenger.
For further information:
Gary Clevenger
Freska Produce International, LLC
Tel: +1 (805) 650-1040
[email protected]
www.freskaproduce.com