It has been a challenging year for mango imports to the U.S. as one of its main suppliers, Peru, has faced a significant drop in volume. Peru will end the 2023-24 season with a 73% drop in exported volume, leading to a 27% drop year-on-year for U.S. mango imports of all origins. 

The latest report from the National Mango Board, published March 8, showed Peru shipped approximately 161,402 boxes (8.8lbs each) of mangos during week 9. That's nearly half of the 301,928 boxes Peru shipped the same week last year. 

The drop in volume from Peru this season was caused by the El Niño phenomenon, which brought elevated temperatures that adversely influenced the flowering of mango trees. This led to prices in the U.S. market to reach unprecedented levels this season.

Relief from Mexican suppliers 

On the other hand, the Mexican deal, which starts later than Peru, is providing stable volumes to the United States. Total shipments from Mexico, expected to last through April, are projected to be 1% higher than last year. 

On week 9, Mexico shipped approximately 1,596,808 boxes, bringing the total to 5,398,264 boxes for the season so far. 

Mexican shipments started to ramp up in February, giving the market some hope in terms of pricing and availability of the fruit. 

In February, Albert Perez of Continental Fresh said they were experiencing the peak of the mango crisis, and that they had not expected the drop in volume to be so drastic. 

However, he said the Mexican season meant positive developments on the horizon. 

Promotional volume from Mexico is anticipated to arrive by April, providing optimism that the industry could mitigate the effects of the current shortage.

Brazil was able to cover some of the shortage this season, with volumes up 31% year-on-year.

As the season progresses, with Peru, Mexico and Guatemala supplying the market, projections indicate that by week 18, all three sources will export have exported 39,343,728 boxes to the U.S., down from the 56,224,325 shipped in 2022-23.