Mango is a seasonal fruit. The country is in full harvest and expects to export 45 million pounds of mango this year, according to data from the Mango Committee, which is part of Agexport.
Guatemala is the fifth biggest producer of mango in Latin America. In 2018, it exported 39 million pounds worth US $ 10 million. This year, the country is expected to export 10 to 15% more.
In addition, the sector plans to allocate another 20 million pounds for the local market and frozen products this year, according to Eddy Martinez, a member of the Mango Committee and general manager of the DFT-Agrotropic company.
Harvests and varieties
Martinez said the harvest lasted around three months, and that the harvest in the department of Retalhuleu, which started in February, had began two weeks earlier than in the previous year.
The region grows the Ataulfo variety, a yellow mango that is very popular because it has no fiber and is sweeter than the other varieties, the executive said.
The harvest in the rest of the producing areas, such as Escuintla, Zacapa and El Progreso, began in the first week of March, with the Tommy Atkins variety.
The late Kent and Keitt varieties will be harvested in April and May. Martinez said that the demand for these varieties was growing, mainly in Europe and Canada.
Export mango production generates more than one thousand permanent jobs in farms and packing plants and more than 50 thousand wages during the three months of the harvest.
The country exports fresh mango to the United States, Canada, Europe, and Chile.
Most new mango plantations in Guatemala are planting the Keitt variety, which is highly productive and is one of the varieties that has best adapted to the climatic conditions, Martinez said.
He also said that with a good agronomic management each tree of that variety could yield more than 40 boxes of nine pounds for export, which would be equivalent to 25 tons of exportable fruit per hectare.
Under these productivity conditions, he said, the mango crop is profitable, but currently more than 50% of the farms have very low production levels, which has discouraged many producers. Therefore, he said, it is necessary for the authorities of the Ministry of Agriculture give due importance to the product.
Source: prensalibre.com
