For yet another year, things aren't looking great for Spanish mangoes, with the harvest expected to plummet even more than it did last season, falling by between 70 and 80% compared to its potential.
"Due to the temperatures recorded during the fruit set, a lot of fruit has failed to develop, so a drastic drop in the mango production is expected. Volumes will be even lower than last year's," says Álvaro Martínez, manager of the Malaga-based company Axarfruit.
"The situation is dramatic. We were all very excited, because initially we thought we were going to have a better mango production, as the first forecasts suggested. Therefore, we will once again have a fairly short Spanish mango season and imports will be required to ensure continuity in the supply to our customers," says Álvaro Martínez.
"The subtropical fruit growing areas in Malaga have been severely affected by various factors and we've already had several difficult seasons," says the manager of this company, which produces, imports and exports organic tropical fruit and lemons.
"Spanish mangoes are commercially very successful thanks to their quality/price ratio because of their proximity to European markets. However, producers are struggling to cope with the increase in their production costs with such drastically low harvests," he says.
Since last summer, the global mango market has been characterized by a low supply, which continues to this day:
"We had a really small Spanish mango harvest and then the same thing happened with the supply from Peru, which fell by more than 70%. The African mango production has also plummeted drastically due to the heat and problems such as anthracnose. Getting enough mangoes is a real struggle," says the director of Axarfruit, which is currently working with mangoes from Senegal and Brazil.
As far as avocados are concerned, the company is currently importing mainly from Peru. "We are facing an atypical season, with prices at the highest levels we've seen in four or five years, because the El Niño phenomenon has caused a considerable reduction in the Peruvian supply. Without a doubt, avocados and mangoes are becoming a business for specialists, for those with experience," says Álvaro Martínez.
For more information:
Álvaro Martínez
Axarfruit
Puente Alta s/n.
29712 La Viñuela, Malaga. Spain.
+34 656 647 475
+34 952 549 562
[email protected]
www.axarfruit.com