U.S. mango importer Amazon Produce Network expects lower volume from Peru may lead to many packhouses closing up earlier than expected this year.

Sourcing representative David Ponce tells www.freshfruitportal.com imports from the Andean country's main mango region of San Lorenzo are about 20% lower than expected.

He says the region will be finishing its production soon but will still be followed by production in the areas of Motupe, Olmos and Casma.

"In Motupe and Olmos the volume should also be around 30-40% less than last year and could even be less because of the rains, and then you have the Casma area which is the latest production region in Peru," he says.

"Because of the rains there were limited volumess going to the packing houses and the rain caused some damages in terms of quality, especially with cosmetic problems.

He says the packing houses will mostly be closed by week 11 due to the costs of keeping them open with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

"There is still one in Casma that could stay open longer but I don't think so as it means you're getting to the U.S. in week 14 and that's too dangerous as you've got the volumes coming in from Mexico and Guatemala."

Guatemalan expectations

He says Guatemalan mango volumes are set to start in week 9, and conditions so far have been conducive to a good season.

"In Guatemala right now the weather has been really good, especially in the area of Zacapa in the south where most of the growers are," he says.

"The southern part of Guatemala has a lot of humidity and very high temperatures, but there hasn’t been much rain over the last few weeks.

"We work with three big growers down there and it looks like this season the volume will be very similar to last year. Some growers have more production, but others have taken out their mango trees to plant other fruit."

He says Guatemala will likely have its peak mango  harvesting during weeks 13, 14 and 15, with peaks in market arrivals in the U.S. over weeks 14,15 and 16.

The season is set to finish with significant volumes in weeks 19 and 20, perhaps with some shipments in week 21.

Photo: APEM

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