For weeks, the global mango market has remained affected by a supply shortage. At present, finding the product is challenging and usually only achievable at very high prices for those without any previous agreements with suppliers. This is the situation according to Tao Azemmat, manager of the young company Mosaic Fruits, which supplies mangoes 52 weeks a year.
“This year, many mango purchases have been made without any supply agreements; the goods have been acquired by paying large sums of money,” says Tao. “Revenue in the mango business has decreased by around 50%. Currently, we are switching from Piura to the Casma region in Peru, where there is about 70% less mango than usual, so the situation has not changed much, but has even worsened a bit. We are now working intensively in Peru, and we'll have to wait until at least March for Mexico to come into the picture. It will be a very short Peruvian campaign.”
Located in Malaga, Mosaic Fruits was founded just a year and a half ago, but Taoufik, or Tao, as everyone calls him, has been working in the sector for more than 20 years, during which he has worked for various Spanish and international companies.
The company is specialized in the marketing of mangoes, avocados and pineapples, but also exports all kinds of Spanish products, especially stone fruit, berries and citrus fruits. “We have partnerships with small and medium-sized producers in different countries who comply with all the necessary regulations for export and need representation in Europe, where we carry out most of the exports. We also ship to North African countries, the Middle East and America,” says the manager of Mosaic Fruits.
According to Tao, “it has become fashionable in Latin American countries to have an office in Europe. In Spain, and in Europe in general, companies in the sector are strengthening their import departments. We stand behind the Spanish production, but when Spain does not have any, we import to be able to continue supplying our customers.”
“We have already managed to secure the supply of mangoes for the 52 weeks of the year. We work mainly with Kent mangoes, the most demanded globally, shipped both by air and sea. These are imported from Peru, Mexico and Africa. We also work a lot with Spanish mangoes, especially of the Osteen variety. We are among the first to start with Peruvian mangoes and the last to finish,” says Tao.
Regarding Mexico, it is traditionally an origin that only ships mangoes by air, but this year, Mosaic plans to start bringing them also by sea. “We would like Mexico to be a continuation of Peru, so customers will only notice the change of origin on the label. To this end, one of our producers in Peru will transfer their know-how to Mexico. In fact, a meeting with our Peruvian air and sea mango specialist and our Mexican supplier is planned at the Fruit Logistica fair in Berlin so that this project can be launched,” says Tao.
“In this challenging campaign, we have been able to supply mangoes without any significant gaps in the supply thanks to our representation agreements. We do not buy product only when prices are good,” says the manager of Mosaic.
The company is also working on the future opening of the first buying center in Africa to allow the purchase of fruit from various African origins, including Egypt, Morocco, Kenya, South Africa, Namibia, etc. “For now, we do not plan to grow quickly. Opportunities have arisen to represent more companies in other countries, but for now, we prefer to stay with fewer, but consolidated suppliers,” he says.
For more information:
Taoufik Azemmat
MOSAIC FRUITS S.L.
Avenida de José Ortega y Gasset
Mercamálaga 291196. Málaga, Spain.
M: +34 610699696
tazemmat@mosaicfruits.com
www.mosaicfruits.com