January 29, 2010

Sponsored by:

London Fruit, Inc.

Mexican Mangoes

Market Snapshot*

Mexican mangoes are not yet shipping, however, the U.S. Department of Agriculture was reporting the following prices on one-layer flats of kent variety mangoes from Peru:

Through Philadelphia: Size 7s, 8s, 9s and 10s, $4.75-5.25; 12s, $5-5.50.

Through South Florida: Size 7s, 8s and 9s, $4.50-5; 10s and 12s, mostly$5.

Through Southern California: Size 7s, 8s and 9s, $5-5.50; 10s and 12s, $4.75-5.50.

* Prices from the USDA's Fruit & Vegetable Market News, Jan. 26.

The Shipping Scene

The official start of the Mexican mango deal still is several weeks away, but importers already are gearing up for what should be a strong season.

London Fruit Inc., Pharr, Texas, likely with start off with the yellow ataulfo variety out of the state of Chiapas in southern Mexico, said Jerry Garcia, vice president.

The company usually starts shipping around Feb. 15, but because of cold weather, shipments more likely will get under way about two weeks later. Temperatures have a lot to do with how quickly mangoes are ready for picking, Garcia said.

"It looks like were going to have a pretty good crop," he said.

Next, London Fruit will move to the state of Michoacan, where Garcia anticipates a good-size crop this year. Shipments of mature fruit also will start about two weeks later in that region.

"Some may try to pick earlier to try to beat the market, but we try to stay until the fruit is actually ready to be picked," Garcia said.

Shipments from Michoacan will start with ataulfos and round fruit, then the red fruit like hadens, tommy atkins and kents will be ready for harvest.

Although cool weather can delay the start of the crop, it should not affect quality. In fact, Garcia said, "It seems to make it prettier."

Some rain fell in Chiapas early in the season, but it should not affect the condition of the mangoes.

"It was too early to hurt the quality," Garcia said.

Chiapas typically has good sizing, like 12s, 14s and 16s - especially on the ataulfos, he said. Sizes in Michoacan typically are a little smaller - 18s, 20s, 22s and 24s.

Volume from London Fruit is expected to be increased by 50% compared to last year to about 2 million boxes.

"We have some partnerships later in the year that will make us stronger later in the season," he said.

The company will offer Mexican mangoes until the end of September or possibly into mid-October, with late-season shipments made up of kent and keitt varieties from Los Mochis in Sinaloa in northern Mexico.

At Splendid Products LLC, Burlingame, Calif., procurement manager Sergio Palala said early reports indicate scattered bloom in the early producing states of Oaxaca, Chiapas and Guerrero.

"A lot of packers will start in mid- to late February with yellow fruit," he said, and red fruit should start shipping in early March from Michoacan and Guerrero.

Although yields may be down industrywide in Mexico by 10%, volume at Splendid Products should be up slightly this season, said Larry Nienkerk, partner and general manager.

"We will add a few additional sheds this year," he said.

The volume increase should be particularly noticeable later in the deal as production in Sinaloa recovers from a hurricane two years ago, he said.

Volume should be greater out of Los Mochis this year, which had a natural 'down year' in 2009 but should have good volume from late June until early October, Palala said.

At Ciruli Bros. LLC in Nogales, Ariz., Chris Ciruli, chief operating officer, said he does not expect the same early start in February that he saw last year.

"This year, we caught a little bit of early rain in January, so we won't have that early production time," he said.

"I think you'll see a good crop in March and April, but it will be little bit lighter in February," he said.

The Orlando, Fla.-based National Mango Board expects the volume of mangoes shipped to the U.S. from Mexico this season to be similar to last year's 43 million boxes.

To help retailers move that fruit, the board has a number of marketing and promotional activities planned, including new point-of sale materials, said Wendy McManus, director of marketing.

The materials will be available to educate shoppers about yellow-skinned mangoes and green-skinned mangoes.

"These were developed in response to retailers who tell us that when the mangoes aren't red, their sales drop off," McManus said.

Each message will be available in an 11- by 7-inch header card or a 5- by 3-inch tear pad with a recipe on the back.

(By Tom Burfield, Western correspondent for The Packer. The Packer and Red Book Credit Services are part of food360º, a division of Vance Publishing Corp., Lincolnshire, Ill.)

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