Latin America Edition
TOFF's first organic Kent mangoes are on their way and should arrive in week 50. "We waited until their Brix reached the desired level before shipping them," explains Wouter Andeweg. He recently visited his Peruvian suppliers and is optimistic about the season. "The harvest should be average. Last year there were a few lower quality mangoes on the market, but so far, good quality's arriving."
According to this Dutch importer, several prominent players entered the organic mango game, so there have been quite a lot more of these planted in Peru in recent years. "Current prices are excellent, partly because the transition period means available supplies are limited," explains Wouter.
"However, the current dollar/euro exchange rate makes mangoes quite pricey. Towards the holidays, mangoes are always sought-after, with sales especially high around Christmas & New Year's Eve. After that, the supply usually increases, so prices decrease somewhat."
"Organic mangoes are one of the main focus products TOFF offers year-round. We also grow things like greenhouse vegetables, pineapple, citrus, and top fruit. We start mango imports from northern Peru and then move to the southern parts of that country. We can, thus, extend the season until March-April, after which we switch to African mangoes," Wouter says.
He says inflation is noticeably affecting organic purchases. "People are carefully considering what to spend their money on."
"There's, therefore, less demand from the higher-end organic greengrocers," Wouter admits. "But, demand from our regular retail clients is still good."
"Our main sales regions are Scandinavia, Germany, France, and Belgium. More and more British customers are finding us too," Wouter concludes.
For more information:
Wouter Andeweg
TOFF
52 Gebroken Meeldijk
2991 VD, Barendrecht, NL
Tel.: +31 (0) 850 704 572
Email: wouter@toffbv.nl
Website: www.toffbv.nl
