Peruvian mango growers and exporters face a critical situation, as the sector projects an 80% drop in volumes for the 2023-2024, driven by the effects of the El Niño phenomenon.

Mango groves in Piura and Lambayeque, and Moro next to Casma, in Áncash, suffered a drastic flowering decrease due to high temperatures in Peru’s  northern coast, according to the Service for the Integral Rural Development of Peru (SEDIR).

The Netherlands, the U.S., UK, Spain, Canada, South Korea, Belgium, Russia, Chile, France, Japan, Germany, New Zealand and Switzerland are the main destinations for Peruvian mangoes. 

The Netherlands and the U.S.  hold a 68% share of overall shipments.

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"Mango needs a minimum temperature of 60°F to flower (and produce fruit), but temperatures have been above 69°F. In Piura there is nothing to do anymore and there are fields where losses have been 100%. The situation is dramatic," says Promango's vice president, Milton Calle.

Piura sets the tone for national production, since it produces 80% of Peru exports.

Last season 12,000 containers of mangos were shipped for export, however, for the next harvest only 3,682 containers have been projected to be shipped across  the world.

That 70% decline is  consistent with the severe production decline. Furthermore, if in the previous season an average of 700 containers left the country each week, the new projection is only 200. This includes the mangos  of Piura, Lambayeque and Casma, without taking into account Moro, which has 3,000 acres.