The Peruvian organic mango season got off to a mediocre start. "The weather in Peru wasn't ideal. First, it was freezing, then scorching. That stressed the fruit resulting in quality problems across the board. The season started later, with the first volumes arriving just before Christmas," says Dutch company BioTropic's David Buitenhuis.
"Added to that, Brazil's exports lasted longer than usual. That created an oversupply of mangoes and low prices in the market. Market prices drop every year in the first two weeks of January, but never before like this year. Selling mangoes in those first weeks of January was a dramatic situation. We even sent some to the biogas plants. Normally, some programs are scaled down, but this year, there were no orders. It's the same story with conventional mangoes."
"The mango market has since begun improving, and prices are, at least, stable. But those better prices for organic mangoes don't make up for the loss of the season's first weeks. The main region in Peru has stopped exporting, and harvesting is starting in the southern growing regions. Last week, the first of those organic mangoes were shipped. Loading should continue until week 13, but, as always, that depends on the weather, as rain can bring the season to an early end," continues David.
"I've worked with organic mangoes for five years, and that market's situation generally disheartens me. Prices rarely rise, while production and other costs have skyrocketed. We work with a minimum guaranteed grower price, which we can't increase because we can't make premium prices either. That's undoubtedly an unsustainable long-term situation, and organic cultivation is becoming increasingly difficult."
"BioTropic offers mangoes year-round. After the two seasons in Peru, we switch to West Africa, where we have a short season of Amelie mangoes from Burkina Faso," explains David. "Kent mangoes from Ivory Coast, Mali, and Senegal follow. This year, we'll also import mangoes from the Dominican Republic to ensure our product availability."
"We then switch to Israel and Spain, after which the Latin American season will resume with supplies from Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru." Although the overall economic recession significantly affects organic exotics sales, he remains optimistic. "Consumers may buy less, but when they do buy, they go for the good products," David concludes.
For more information:
BioTropic
193 Klappolder
2665 MP, Bleiswijk, NL
Tel.: +31 (0) 302 425 010
Email: dbs@biotropic.com
Website: www.biotropic.com