Zapopan, Jalisco – This year’s Mexican mango campaign has been very positive regarding the quality and volume of boxes exported to the United States market, stated the president of EMEX (Association of Mango Exporters of Mexico), Engineer Armando Celis.
According to Celis, “by April 27, Mexico had exported 2.5 million more four-kilo boxes of mango to the US market than in the same period of the previous season. This increase is due to the increase in mango consumption in the United States, and to fluidity in sales in the European and Canadian markets. In addition, we are seeing many new players in the mango business.”
Mango in times of COVID-19
“The mango campaign in 2020 was okay, except in the first three or four months of the pandemic. Afterward, we adapted the marketing mechanisms to the commercial scenario and all the processes returned to normal,” the head of EMEX stated.
Digital congress
“We are working to hold Mexico’s Third International Mango Congress. It will take place in October of this year and, if the sanitary conditions allow, we want to hold the EMEX members’ assembly in person,” he said.
T-MEC Agreement
“There’s no doubt the T-MEC agreement (Tratado entre Mexico, Estados Unidos y Canada, or “USMCA” in English) will improve the fluidity of our commercial relations because there will be no tariffs, so this agreement is very enriching for Mexican mangoes,” he stated.
Great possibilities in the US
“The United States market offers enormous possibilities for Mexican mangoes. We are exporting about 80 million boxes a year but we can grow more. We haven’t even covered 20 to 25% of the market, since we are talking about a market of 350 million inhabitants.”
Regarding the season, which runs from May to September, Celis stated: “We are going to have more volume than last year. In addition, the fruit in the fields and in the packaging facilities has extraordinary quality.”
Mexico exports several mango varieties to the US, including Tommy, Ataulfo, Ken, Keit and Heyden. The states of Chiapas, Michoacan, Oaxaca and Sinaloa are the main producers, but most exports are of Sinaloan origin. The coast of Jalisco ranks 13th among the entities that grow mango, producing 113,000 tons annually, but only exporting a third of its production.
Source: Fresh Plaza
