Mexico's mango season saw an early and positive start this year. "This enabled many importers to get a jump on the season with fairly good volume," says Cindy Schwing with Splendid by Porvenir. Last year, the Mexican season started extremely late, causing overall production to be down from initial projections. For this year, however, overall Mexican mango volume is expected to exceed 2024 volume. To date, 23 million cases have been shipped compared to 21 million cases the same time last year.
Northern Sinaloa is fly-zone free
At the start of the season, Splendid by Porvenir brought mangos in from Chiapas and Oaxaca, but these regions saw a rough start due to rain and wind. Since those regions have been winding down, the company has also been sourcing in Michoacan where fruit has been cleaner overall. "Despite the scars from the weather, eating quality has been good for all regions as exterior scarring has no impact on interior fruit quality," Schwing said. To date, the main varieties that have been shipped into the U.S. are Ataulfo and Tommy. Kent is gradually starting to come in, but supplies are still limited.
Right now, mango harvest is in transition as the gap is bridged from mature fruit in the southern regions to more plentiful availability in Nayarit, further north. From there, harvest will move to Northern Sinaloa. "The latter is our home front where we grow all three varieties: Ataulfos, Kents, and Keitts." Splendid's Ataulfos are marketed as Jaguars while Keitts are brought to market as Keitt Kongs. "The benefit of sourcing from Northern Sinaloa is that the region is a fly-free zone, which means no hot water treatment is necessary, resulting in cleaner fruit that lasts longer," Schwing commented. "It also extends the Mexican mango season, which is a benefit to those not ready to move to offshore programs until necessary." Schwing added.
Jaguar mangos in box.
Cinco de Mayo
This time of year, with Cinco de Mayo taking place in a few days, is probably the highest promotable time for mangos in the retail world. "We are witnessing very high demand right now on all varieties," Schwing shared. In addition to Cinco de Mayo, demand is usually also elevated for National Mango Month in June and Mango Day on July 22. "While prices have been holding up until now, they are starting to slip as volume continues to build. Nevertheless, I'm happy about the very positive start of the season and I'm thrilled to see the continued demand and growth of mangos in the U.S."
Tariffs
When asked about tariffs, Schwing mentioned "at first, importers were certainly concerned about the impact of tariffs on their business. However, everyone recognized that whether tariffs would be implemented or not, the costs would be passed on and businesses would adjust. At the same time, cost increases for consumers was not something any of us would ever like to see happen." At the moment, produce imported from Mexico is safe under the USMCA agreement, which is coming up for renewal in the summer of 2026. "We will have to wait and see how the review process will be handled, whether re-negotiated or left protected under the original USMCA agreement," she concluded.
For more information:
Cindy Schwing
Splendid by Porvenir LLC
Tel: (+1) 956-793-6493
[email protected]
http://www.splendidbyporvenir.com
https://splendidbyporvenir.com/savethejaguar/