"Peru:"It's illogical to ship mangoes by air rather than by sea"

The behaviour of the mango season in the Piura region has been uneven, even though there was a great flowering, the weather and the assistance have played a role.

"The weather has delayed the campaign's onset, as well as the formation of the fruits and their respective evolution. In addition, there has been a great percentage fall of fruit that will continue to decline at the time that the harvest is evaluated," explained Richard Belmar, of the Belfrut SAC Company.

In terms of quality, "it is true that the latest arrivals of fruit to Europe, during previous campaigns, have been disappointing," said Richard, "but we expect that this year's fruit will be better as the fields have received financial support and, therefore, technical assistance from the start of the campaign. This will prove that not all the farmers have had the financial means to pay for these expenses."

"This is the first year that exporters are shipping their mangoes by air (forcing their maturation with illicit products) rather than by sea, something that is completely illogical. Unfortunately, many people are only interested in the short-term benefits and can't see the effect that this will have on the product's image in the international markets, "he says.

Richard believes that the product's volumes that are reliable for export will be less than the estimated production. "The overall production of the Piura region will have a decrease of 40% over the season, and of that 40% about 30-40% is from areas that received assistance and the remaining 60-70 % of fields that had no assistance. Hence, the production volumes won't really be exportable or reliable. The season is delayed, but it will also come to an end in a few months."

Richard Belmar
BELFRUT S.A.C.
Calle Grau 325, Sullana, Piura, Perú
T: +51951865812
r.belmar@belfrut.com
www.belfrut.com

FRUTAL IMPORT
8, rue Général Estirac, Rivesaltes.France
T: +33633294543
r.belmar@frutalimport.com
www.frutalimport.com