Brazil, Ecuador and Peru, three of the main mango exporters to the U.S. market, are seeing very positive balances during this winter season.

Peru, which closes its season during the last week of March, has experienced a considerable rise in export volumes. Current expectations are of a 24% increase year over year with a projected total volume of 22 million boxes (4kg equivalents) according to data provided by the National Mango Board (NMB) in Orlando, FL. 

In an interview with FreshFruitPortal.com, Rolff V. Mitton, Data & Research Senior Manager at the National Mango Board said: “During the winter months, the increase in volume is being mostly driven by Peru.”

He also indicated that Ecuador closed its season in the last week of December with a total volume of approximately 13.7 million boxes. A 5% increase compared to the previous season. 

Importers are anxiously waiting for the Mexican season to start in the next few weeks. 

“Our expectation is that Mexico will come into play soon (in the next couple weeks if not sooner). Based on available information, we are expecting the volume for the remainder of the winter months to be about 24% higher compared to the previous season,” said Mitton about the upcoming months. 

New producers entering the market

After Colombia exported their first ever shipment of fresh mangoes into the US during the last week of December, there are high expectations of how they might impact the industry.

“We have been in close contact with the Producer Association in Colombia. They have the volume and their production area is big, therefore we expect that the volumes from Colombia will increase very fast in coming years,” said Leonardo Ortega, Director of Research at the National Mango Board. 

The Dominican Republic has also increased their import numbers to the U.S. This improvement has placed them 7th in the list of countries with the highest export numbers. 

At the forefront of a growing industry

The National Mango Board has been at the forefront the industry for over sixteen years. 

According to Ortega, the availability of mangoes per capita in the U.S. has increased approximately 95% since the NMB started in 2005.

“Regarding import volumes during the same period, they have increased 115%. We went from 62 million boxes to 133 million boxes in 2021, that is how much the market has grown,” said Ortega. 

NMB's main objective is to increase mango consumption in the US. Their strong online presence and digital marketing techniques, in collaboration with partners, have proven successful in efficiently positioning mangoes as a commodity, not just an exotic fruit.

This has consequently fostered progressive growth in the industry.

If industry members wish to stay informed with weekly updates about the industry, they can subscribe to NMB’s crop report in the following link.