It is offshore mango season in North America and Europe, which means the majority of supply is coming from South America currently. The big question is how much volume will come from Peru this season after an early and strong start with Kent mangoes. Brazil had a rough start with exports to the U.S. with port strikes, inconsistencies in deliveries and limited space on vessels. Ecuador is expecting a better season too. South Africa's mango crop of 2024/2025 will be 10% to 20% lower than last year as a result of strong winds knocking off fruit and sunburn. Mozambique has started their crop to supply South African retailers. Egypt had abundant volumes with their mango export season ending at the beginning of November. West African mango growing countries had mixed fortunes - Senegal's mango export industry is in the midst of a crisis. Côte d'Ivoire had a successful season thanks to good weather conditions and strong European demand. Mali's season was marked by higher volumes than the previous season, especially for the Kent variety.
A trader in Germany said Peru's early Kent mangoes that arrived in September were too small and not properly ripened. In Italy growers are satisfied with their 2024 season that ended a few days ago. Belgium has returned to a stable mango market after a big shortage, with more supply coming from Peru and Brazil. In the Netherlands caution was raised over a potential 'Invasion' of Peruvian mangoes. Although Israel's 2024 mango season volumes ended higher than last season, it was about 20-25% less than estimated.
North and South America: Smaller size mangoes from Peru
It is offshore mango season in North America, which means the majority of supply is coming from South America currently. The offshore season kicked off with imports from Brazil. The start was a little rough due to challenges around port strikes, inconsistencies in deliveries, and limited space on vessels to the U.S. West coast. In the meantime, Ecuador has started up, playing an important role. To the benefit of importers and consumers, the country's harvest started early. Until the first week of November, Ecuador had already shipped eight million boxes out of the projected 14 million boxes for the season. However, the country is expected to finish harvest early. "They are already struggling to keep up with the volume needed," one importer says. On a positive note, a projected shipped volume of 14 million boxes is much more positive than the five million boxes that were shipped last season due to El Niño.
Peru is also starting early and will be coming in strong with Kent mangoes. The first Peruvian mangoes will be arriving in the next week, which will support North American importers in covering their commitments. While Peru normally brings in larger size fruit (6, 7, or 8 ct.), sizes are expected to be smaller this season. As a result, the expectation is for larger fruit to be more scarcely available, causing an increase in prices. According to the USDA, the average price per box for 6-8 ct. mangos amounted to $12 early November whereas 10 ct. and 12 ct. averaged $8 and $6 per box respectively.
Like Ecuador, Peru is also expecting a much better season in terms of volume. Last year, 6.1 million boxes were shipped, and the projections for this season are to bring more than 23 million boxes to the U.S. between now and early March 2025.
South Africa: Mango crop of 2024/2025 will be 10% to 20% lower
South Africa's mango season has started on the wrong foot at the municipal market, some mango growers believe, because for the fourth or fifth year running, they say, unripe mangoes have appeared several weeks before the first South African mangoes, dragging down the prices. It sold for R70 for a 2kg carton.
Mozambique has started their crop and supply South African retail for the very first fruit of the season. A 1kg bag costs around R50 at a supermarket at the moment.
The mango crop of 2024/2025 will be lower than last year's 79,500 tonnes by 10% to 20% as a result of strong winds knocking off and damaging fruit and consequently sunburn during an early-spring heatwave in Malelane, Hectorspruit and Komatipoort. "I personally expect my Hoedspruit mango crop to be down by 10% to 15%, perhaps even more," a grower says. Harvesting will pick up speed towards the end of November to herald the festive summer season.
Egypt: Good mango export season that ended at beginning of November
The Egyptian mango season came to an end at the beginning of November. One exporter says, "The season was great and we had great demand from Russia, the Gulf countries, and Europe, especially the Netherlands through the port of Rotterdam. The season was also marked by strong demand from Morocco." The same source adds that prices ranged from 700 USD per tonne up to 1,400 USD. Another exporter reports that the Zabadiya variety was the most in demand.
The season was marked by abundant volumes, exceeding those of the 2023 season. Pending official figures for the 2024 campaign, one exporter compares saying, "last season, over 60,000 tons were exported fresh from Egypt, and over 150,000 tons frozen, to over 50 countries." The same exporter indicates that two million tons are produced on around 100 thousand hectares, making mangoes Egypt's second most exported fruit after citrus.
West Africa
Senegal: Export industry in crisis
Senegal's mango export industry is in the midst of a crisis. The season ended prematurely on August 2, with the end of exports to Europe. The season was marked by a two-week late start, accompanied by poor weather conditions between drought and high temperatures. The first harvest cycle, representing 25% of national production, was missed due to weather conditions. In the second cycle, competition from Egypt and Latin American origins put the Senegalese exporters in a difficult position.
As one exporter put it towards the end of the campaign, "Prices are in free-fall. Currently, 1 kg is being sold at 200 CFA (€0.30) per kg compared to 250-300 CFA francs a few days ago." One grower went so far as to declare that "the mango export industry is on the verge of collapse." The same source adds that growers are considering adopting earlier, more resistant varieties such as Amélie, instead of the Kent the country is known for, or even converting to dates or avocados. This is the third consecutive season of crisis for the sector in Senegal, with each season bringing its own set of problems such as climate, fruit flies, and political instability.
Côte d'Ivoire: Season was successful
In Côte d'Ivoire, the season was successful thanks to good weather conditions and strong European demand. An exporter says, "For the Kent variety, the most popular with our customers in Europe, the campaign has been excellent. Production at the national level (all varieties combined) reached 180 thousand tonnes this year." The same source adds that 32 thousand tonnes of Ivorian mangoes were exported to Europe in 2024. Prices remained at the same level as the 2023 campaign. However, the season ended earlier than usual due to heavy rainfall.
Mali: Higher Kent volumes
In Mali, the season was marked by higher volumes than the previous season, especially for the Kent variety. Climatic conditions were good, according to one grower. He adds, "We have much larger calibers this season than last. We have an abundance of 6-7-8-9 calibers, and much fewer 10 calibers than the previous campaign, and the 12s are almost non-existent." Demand for Malian mangoes has been particularly strong from Morocco.
France: Abundant supply
While the first Peruvian mangoes reach the Brazil origin in France, they arrive on a market still supplied by the Spanish origin. Supply was particularly abundant this year, thanks to weather conditions that were beneficial to production. There was a very good flowering period, and the drought benefited the mango trees. Volumes are therefore high and the season much longer.
It's a safe bet that this will have an influence on the Peruvian season. Spanish supply is still present, and what's more, the quality hasn't dropped. This is one of the characteristics of the Spanish origin and variety. It tastes good and is naturally better preserved thanks to shorter transport times. In terms of consumption, there is now a certain regularity, as mango is a product that distributors put forward when seasonal fruit is in short supply. Today, however, with climate change, there is no longer any marked seasonal pattern. Products like mango are sold all year round, and more specifically over the Christmas period. As proof of this, large volumes of Spanish mangoes were sold on the French market between June and today.
Germany: Peru fruit too small, not properly ripened
The first Kent from Peru arrived by air freight at the end of September. "However, the fruits were far too small and not properly ripened, which in turn significantly damaged confidence in the product. Nevertheless, many customers really wanted the goods from Peru - but then asked for alternatives such as the 'Cherry' variety from Brazil because they were simply better ripened." These Brazilian goods will probably still be available until the end of November, according to a wholesale market trader.
Peruvian Kent is also in plentiful supply at the moment, but there are still too many small calibers, the trader added. In addition, air freight costs from Peru have risen sharply this year, which in turn is due to the lack of flights to Europe.
Italy: Growers satisfied with 2024 season
The 2024 Sicilian mango season ended a few days ago with some satisfaction. The mild winter and relatively warm spring favoured production in terms of quality, which was about 20 days earlier. The Glenn variety is the earliest: it started in mid-July. This year, the quality of production exceeded expectations. The average producer price for mangos was between 4.70 and 5.50 €/kg. Our campaign ended about ten days ago with the Keitt and Kent varieties. To avoid fragmentation of supply, the small Sicilian producers would like to set up a network in order to be more effective on the markets.
Mango prices are not very high at the moment, according to a major wholesaler in northern Italy. "The fruit is coming to Europe mainly from Peru. And the highest quality product is the one transported by air. But the month of November, historically, is never very favourable for mango sales, so the quantities on the markets are more than sufficient, while the demand is not very high. The airfreighted mango is almost ready to eat, it is a fruit that has to be consumed within 7-10 days, so it has to be sold quite quickly. The wholesale price is currently between €30 and €35 per 6kg box, compared to an average of €40 per box. A spike in sales, and therefore a price increase, is expected in December in view of Christmas and gift-giving for exotic and out-of-season quality fruit," he says.
Another wholesaler from northern Italy adds: "Peru started with continuity and had an initial period of very high prices. The Kent variety shipped by air was costing more than €40 per 6kg box. This was due to the lack of space on airfreight in favour of Peruvian crops such as blueberries and asparagus. A fortnight ago, however, as space became available, the price fell below €30 and has now stabilised at €32-33. I hope that the market will remain regular, at least for a while. In general, there is no over-consumption of mangoes at the moment. As for the product arriving by ship, the Tommy Atkins and Palmer varieties from Brazil are still showing low prices: 4 to 5 €. From Peru, Kent mangoes in containers are about to leave".
Belgium: Stable mango market after big shortage
"With mangoes, the market seems to have calmed down again," says a Flemish importer. "There has been a big shortage, so prices were way too high. Then you see that at some point the market starts blocking and there is a tipping point, causing prices to drop again. Meanwhile, some more volume are coming now from Brazil and Peru has started loading also. It is even creating slight pressure to get all the volumes out again. But some actions have started up, so it is resolving itself."
Netherlands: Caution raised over potential 'Invasion' of Peruvian mangoes
"Old-fashioned opacity," is how a Dutch importer describes the mango market. "On the one hand, there seemed to be a threat of a large Peruvian harvest, but the question is how big it will actually be and whether the fruit will be in the right size and sorting. For now, importers seem to be keeping their spice dry."
"It's almost impossible to make a solid decision. Overseas growers are financially stretched after the disastrous 2023/24 season and are eager for advance payments, but prepaying in such an uncertain market is a risky business," the importer continues. "A significant production is still expected from Brazil, and no one wants to see market pressure accumulate. Initially, the story was that Peru would flood the European market with large volumes of mangoes all at once, but now there's a growing counter-narrative suggesting that the 'bumper crop' might not be as overwhelming as first thought, especially in terms of size."
Israel: 2024 volumes ended higher than last season, but 20-25% less than estimate
Israel's mango export season ended in late September, with the 2024 mango volumes that were higher than last season, but it still ended lower than the estimate. A large exporter noted, "This season volumes were high, but about 20-25% less of what was expected. In general the season was just ok, we can't say it was excellent. The overall quality was decent. In general the quality was good to our main markets in Europe."
The exporter notes further, "We increased our air shipment this year especially with the Maya and Omer varieties." A small quantity of mangoes were shipped to Canada, with an 'insignificant amount' that was sent by sea to Russia. "The only thing that affects our market in Europe is the arrivals from Brazil, which are usually lower priced than what we are trying to achieve to keep our growers alive. The prices are not high that we receive in Europe, it is just a bit over what we need to keep our growers alive."
Next week's topic: Tomatoes