The supply of mangoes out of Southern Mexico continues to be short. "It's Tommy Atkins and Ataulfo fruit that are seeing short supply still due to the conditions they had down there during the flowering months 90 days ago," says Gary Clevenger of Freska Produce.
He notes that when the flowering started in Southern Mexico, there had been some wind and hot weather and on top of that, the region experienced less rain this season. "I think El Nino is kind of following its way up to southern Mexico. We'll have to see how it pans out throughout the Mexican season."
In all, there are hopes that mango volume will return to normal by mid-April once production starts to move further north.
Other sourcing regions
Meanwhile Peruvian mango exports to the U.S. are largely wrapped up. Costa Rica and Guatemala will begin their production in March with arrivals mostly into Florida. "I don't know if that's going to be enough to change things. It could affect the market locally on the East Coast. The West Coast will continue to stay strong," Clevenger says, noting retailers generally prefer to stay in one sourcing country of origin once shipping begins.
On demand, that's slowed down at retail. "Retail pricing on mangoes has gone up quite a bit too. It's still in a range that is palatable to the consumer but there's not enough supply and retailers are afraid of the shrinkage so they're not buying as much as they used to," says Clevenger.
Last year at this time, mango pricing was approximately $10 on yellow fruit and $6-$7 on red mangoes. Right now, pricing is in the $16-$17 range. "It's because there was no fruit starting way back in October through to now. I haven't seen it this short this long before," says Clevenger.
Those high prices could stay strong until the first part of April when production moves to the next region in Mexico thus possibly improving supply.
For more information:
Gary Clevenger
Freska Produce
Tel: +1 (805) 650-1040
Gary@FreskaProduce.com
www.freskaproduce.com