With a delay of several weeks the Spanish mango harvest started in October. Soon the harvest of avocados will start too. Both tropical fruits are grown in Malaga, southern Spain. Juan Antonio Reyes Gutiérrez of Reyes Gutiérrez expects a good season for both products.
“Reyes Gutiérrez, besides being one of the biggest importers in Europe, has been cultivating avocados and mangoes in his own farms in Vélez-Málaga for more than 25 years, under the name of AVOFRUITS,” Juan Antonio explains. “I’m also the Director of this company.” Next to this Reyes Gutiérrez started an import and export business and was not unsuccessful. According to Juan the company may count itself as one of the top export companies in Europe.
Usually the harvest of mango’s starts at the end of August. “Except this year, because the fruit haven´t got the optimum qualities to be harvested,” says Juan Antonio. “It was delayed until the end of the first week of October.” Expectations for both mango and avocado seasons are high. “There is still a lot of room for growth for the subtropical world in the area. According to our forecasts, in the current mango season we can exceed 40,000 tons in the Axarquía if the weather does not affect the crop, therefore, we must be prepared to face this growth. Currently, we have the capacity to handle 100 tons of this fruit every day, although our goal is to increase it to 200 tons.”
Mango and avocado are grown in the Axarquía, which has a subtropical climate year round. “It’s ideally for them, because we have a subtropical weather for the whole year, what helps to a good crop of this fruits.” The Spanish company has several varieties in its portfolio. For mango the biggest is Osteen, followed by Keitt and Kent. “On the other hand, regarding Avocado we find the Hass, Bacon, Fuerte, Pinkerton varieties among others.”
“The main markets are Spain, Germany, France, Portugal, Holland, Belgium, Italy, England and the Nordic countries, for the avocado and mango”, Juan Antonio continues. He expects the market for both products will continue to grow. “Yes, every year the consumption of fruit increases as people become more aware of consuming fresh products such as our fruits. At the same time, the producers are focusing on these fruits too, so with what we have from Malaga, we can supply even more markets.”
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