Only 3,000 hectares of the total 20,400 hectares of mango established in Michoacan are certified. Thus, mango producers in the state are at risk of facing the closure of borders by international buyers once accreditation becomes compulsory in 2017, stated Xavier Chavez Contreras, president of the Mango Product System in Michoacan.
Chavez Contreras said that they had achieved certifying 3,200 hectares by the end of 2014, i.e. 15.69 percent of the total hectares registered in the state, 43.13 percentage points below the nearly 12,000 hectares (58.82 percent) they expected would be certified. The situation worsened in 2015, when they lost 6.25 percent of the hectares accredited and now only have 3,000 accredited hectares.
The president of the Mango Local Product System said that the main reason why producers were not interested in the accreditation was because, unlike other crops, it would not lead to an improvement in prices for them.
However, starting February 2017, the mango orchards lacking phytosanitary, risk system, and/or plant safety certifications, such as Global Gap, won't be able to sell their products in international markets, as they will only accept fruits from accredited orchards.
"Producers lose interest in certification because of the costs and effort it demands do not currently represent an increase in the selling prices as accredited producers sell at the same price as non-certified ones. However, starting February next year uncertified mango exports will no longer be allowed, that's why I've told producers not to expect a price increase but being able to sell," Xavier Chavez said.
Expectations for 2016
Expectations are we will produce more than 130,000 tons of mangos in 2016, 70,000 to 75,000 of which will be sold in international markets, said Chavez Contreras; However, this good performance could lead to a fall in prices and buyers becoming saturated by the product, mainly in the United States, if weather conditions allow various American suppliers, who compete for the same niche, to have a harvest at the same time again.
"Up to now, at the beginning of the harvest, we have the chico and Heidi variety. We're going slowly, but we expect there will be a good demand for the fruit, we just hope it won't take place at the same time with the productions from other states and Central America because we would saturate the market, which only supports 2.8 million cases per year; if there are more cases price will fall," the President of Product System Mango in the state said.
He recalled that in 2015 the production of Chiapas, Jalisco, Oaxaca, and Nayarit in Mexico hit the market in the same period of time as Costa Rica's and Honduras' production because of the changing weather patterns generated by El Niño, leading to a 60 percent decrease in prices plummeted over 2014 and a ten percent decrease in mango boxes exported to the United States. Currently, mango exports from Peru and Brazil are coming to an end. Michoacan will be in full season next February.
Source: cambiodemichoacan.com.mx