According to Xavier Contreras Chavez, President of the Mango Product System in Michoacan, the state of Michoacan will ratify its position as the number one international marketer of mango this year because it will export 54.07% (73,000 tons) of the estimated 135,000 tons of mango the state will produce in 2015, and because the state expects to achieve an increase in certifications in health and safety.
Chavez Contreras said they expected to have a strong production of mango in the first weeks of March, as the mango orchards in the state had reached 100 percent flowering during December. He also said they expected to start selling the fruit in the domestic market at the beginning of February and in foreign markets before the end of that month.
Additionally, he indicated that the packers and producers had agreed to improve the export quality by not marketing mature or tender mangoes, so the price should exceed the four dollars per kilogram at the beginning of the season.
Exports will also be strengthened by the entry of new Global GAP certified local gardens because the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States won't admit packages from uncertified orchards.
"We have until March 15 to register the mango orchards that will be certified this year and we will have the support of the Federation to fund this investment by up to 70 percent, so each producer will only have to pay around 30,000 pesos," stated Xavier Chavez. The certification process will evaluate sanitary facilities, warehouses, the employees' canteens, and the wet beds for the treatment of mango, among other things, added the President of the Mango Product System in Michoacan.
45.93 percent of the state's mango production, equivalent to 62,000 tons, will be allotted in the domestic market, where 22 percent, 13,200 tons, will be absorbed by agribusiness.
3,250 hectares of the 20,450 hectares of mango in Michoacan have the Global GAP certification so they can export their product, i.e. 15.89 percent of the acreage said Chavez Contreras, a number that is expected to increase by 269.23% and amount to 12,000 hectares in 2015.
Source: Cambio de Michoacán