Mangoes have begun shipping out of Brazil.
Maria Cavazos of MC Produce based in Montreal, QC says that the mangoes started shipping week 35 and will go until the middle of October. “Brazil’s season started very late this year so the season will be short. As soon as Ecuador starts, which is around the second week October, then Brazil will finish along with Peru,” says Cavazos. MC Produce began shipping Brazilian mangoes week 36.
That said, there is less volume from Brazil this season, particularly on the Ataulfo or “Honey mango” variety. “And the red mangoes are big sizes. There’s very little on sizes 10s and 12s for the chain stores,” Cavazos adds.
Pressure on demand
She notes that demand for the mangoes is good and coming from both Canada and the U.S. as well as throughout Europe. “Demand was soft last month because school starts in September. But now, because of the heavy rains, there’s the low volume in Brazil and we have higher demand from customers. It will be extremely difficult this year to fill up the gap,” she says.
As for pricing, it recently sat at $3.50/box but given the good demand for Brazilian mangoes, prices on size 36 and higher are from $4-$4.50. “This is also because there are less people in the fields in Brazil harvesting fruit,” says Cavazos, noting supplies are tighter.
Looking ahead, Cavazos says the coming weeks promise good-quality fruit at possibly higher prices. “But challenges for the season include transportation with higher rates,” she says.
For more information:
Maria Cavazos
MC Produce
Tel: +1 (514) 739-5382
maria.cavazos@mcproduceinc.com
http://mcproduceinc.com/