The mango market is currently transitioning from Peru to Côte d'Ivoire. "It means that a lot is converging in the market. The delayed final shipments from Peru are arriving at the same time as the first cargoes from Côte d'Ivoire, and the market is struggling to absorb those volumes during these awkward sales weeks," says Joep Jongmans of Special Fruit.
"With the good weather, demand is strong," he continues. "Only last week, being the week after Easter, is typically quieter, and this sales week includes a public holiday across much of Europe on May 1st. That creates some logistical challenges. On top of that, you have different arrival times, origins, quality, and ripeness levels of the fruit, all contributing to wide price fluctuations. It makes these weeks particularly challenging."
Still, the trader remains optimistic. "Unlike last year, when there were hardly any good mangoes, there is renewed interest and consumption this season. We received good-quality mangoes from Peru. The only issue has been persistent delays throughout the season—not just in the last 2–3 weeks, but across the entire supply window."
"Delays were caused by problems at ports in Peru and Rotterdam, as well as foggy weather—you name it. That made supply planning very difficult. Not just for mangoes, but for all containers coming from that region. However, this can cause real issues, especially for sensitive products like mangoes. They're not like apples or kiwis, which can sit in cold storage for weeks. If mangoes take three weeks to ship from Peru, you can't keep them for another three weeks on arrival. Still, it's all gone reasonably well, considering."
Now, the focus is gradually shifting to the West African season. "That's looking good. The quality of Kent mangoes from Côte d'Ivoire is promising. There is just a bit too much volume on the market at the moment, especially with Brazil still supplying not only Keitt, but also Palmer and Tommy Atkins varieties. That puts some pressure on the market, but once Peru's volumes clear, things should stabilize. Côte d'Ivoire has a slightly smaller crop this year, but we expect a good supply through mid-May. After that, volumes will dip briefly before picking up again from Mali, Senegal, and others, along with Brazil, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic, which will begin shipping in late May or early July. Those will be Keitt mangoes. They are also in demand, but the preferred variety in Europe remains the Kent mango."
For more information:
Joep Jongmans
Special Fruit
Europastraat 36
2321 Meer, Belgium
Tel: +32 3 315 07 73
[email protected]
www.specialfruit.be