Puerto Rico is a small producer of high-quality mangoes that it markets in Europe and in the United States. To learn more about the Puerto Rican mango industry, we spoke with Veny Marti, President and Partner of MARTEX FARMS SE, a true connoisseur of this country's mango industry.
"It is important to point out that the industry went through an extremely complicated time in September 2017, when Hurricane Maria had a very severe impact on our island and the entire population. In subsequent years, we had a substantial loss of volume because of the effects of the storm, However, we finally see that we are going to be 100% recovered.”
"Right now, according to my estimate, we have a planted area of 3,100 acres and estimated production of 3 million 4-kilo boxes for 2022. Nearly two hundred additional hectares have been planted after the storm. They are not in production yet, but they will be in the next two or three years. There are three main producers on the island that export mangoes and our main market is Europe. Puerto Rico ships 85 to 90% of all its production to Europe and 10 or 15% to the United States market."
“We do destine something for Canada, for the nearby islands, but very little for the Asian markets, as we don't have the logistics to do so right now. In the past, we used to destine some volume for Japan.”
Mango Varieties in Puerto Rico
“Puerto Rico's native mango is the Mayagüezano mango. It's our Creole mango and it's very similar to the Banilejo mango of the Dominican Republic and also to the Bizcochuelo mango of Cuba. However, our Creole mango does not have much commercial viability, especially for export, and we use it primarily for the production of patterns in the trees.”
"The variety par excellence in Puerto Rico is the Keitt mango. Possibly 90% of the fields sown for export are of this variety, although we have some Palmer."
The National Mango Board's very positive rating
"Our company is linked to the National Mango Board's promotion and research efforts. There's no doubt they're doing a great job of dissemination and that the mangoes are very well known among American consumers. We want to grow in the US market and we believe that the work of the National Mango Board is very good and is doing a great job, which has led to an evident increase in consumption. We value the work they are doing very much and positively.”
For more information:
Martex Farms
https://martexfarms.com