"Unless there is a last-minute climatic debacle, we can predict that we will have a campaign with a greater volume than the previous one, and given the good development of the fruit in the trees, the quality should be exceptional," explains José Linares, president of the Spanish Association of Tropical Crops.
The yield will not be very high in the field, since it should be an OFF year, as it is known in the sector, but at the same time, new plantations are entering into production, which will compensate for those lower yields.
According to José Linares, within 3 or 4 years, the mango production could reach that of avocados, which amounts to around 60,000 tonnes. "The mango acreage has expanded very rapidly in recent years in Malaga, and although it is still lower than that of avocados, mango trees are much more productive."
The problems caused by drought are getting worse in the subtropical fruit production areas, especially in Malaga. "Until now, the public administrations have not done much to improve this situation for the agricultural sector, although it now looks like they are starting to react," points out José Linares. "Fortunately, we can guarantee that there will be no complications this campaign, neither for avocados, nor for mangoes, which need less irrigation."
The greenhouse mango campaign will start in mid-August, and the marketing of mangos grown outdoors will begin in late August and early September with the first Tommy, followed by the Osteen, which accounts for almost 80% of all varieties, and later by the Kent and Keitt until mid-October.
"There are fewer and fewer Tommy mangoes in the Spanish fields, as they continue to be replaced by Osteen, which in addition to being more productive, is highly appreciated and demanded by the export markets, mostly due to its flavour and aromas," states the association's representative.
The sector is in search of new varieties that can help extend the mango campaign, which currently lasts for about two and a half months. "We are conducting tests with new varieties that will allow us to start the campaign earlier, as it is more interesting to extend our season from the beginning, as the high temperatures make that possible. In early November, temperatures begin to fall in Malaga and would then be very complicated to produce the fruit."
According to José Linares, "Spanish mangoes can compete very well against overseas mangoes, since their quality is similar to that of air-shipped mangoes, but their price is much more affordable because of the geographical proximity to other European countries, which makes it possible to harvest them at their optimum point of ripeness."