As we near our Mexican season, what’s happening south matters
I don’t think there could be a more unusual offshore mango season than the one that is currently happening. Perhaps it’s not unusual in the grand {supply chain} scheme of things considering ports and vessel issues are one of the main problems.
Currently Ecuadorian fruit, which has been riddled with quality problems still lingers. Assumptions are it will be finished in the next week. Peru which began early, is now assumed to be in peak mode. But you wouldn’t really see that in terms of our marketplace. There is indeed significant volume out of Peruvian mango orchards this year, but there is a serious shortage of vessel space in particular to the USA, which means there is very little fruit in comparison to years past.
A significant amount of fruit has gone to Europe and the local IQF facilities for processing. The rest left to fall into local markets or orchard floors. There are several ships en-route and markets are expected to crash a bit as backups in the ports create a – everything arriving at once scenario. Which is not uncommon for the Peruvian season. Things are so utterly unpredictable with the ports its really anyone’s guess. Some expect prices to remain high, others expect a bit of a crash. Truly, my assessment talking to my sources- no one is really sure.
Early rains in the late region have some worried about late season quality, despite the fact that fruit has been exceptional in quality all season long so far. Market prices are really high in comparison, but usually drop significantly after the New Year so we will have to monitor the port situation closely to be able to gauge the realities.
My gut feeling is the Mexican market’s arrival into the marketing in February should be helpful.
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