The mango production in northern Sinaloa, Mexico, is characterized by three parameters, namely quality, safety and the sector's unity, which have contributed decisively to the crop's growth in this Mexican region. Daniel Ibarra Lugo, president of the Association of Mango Exporting Producers of the fruit fly-free zone in northern Sinaloa, shared his knowledge and experience with mango cultivation in the area.
Northern Sinaloa mango campaign
"The campaign in northern Sinaloa will begin in a couple of weeks. We start with the early varieties Ataulfo and Tommy and we have good prospects for the production. We believe we are going to have slightly larger sizes this year. The vast majority of the orchards here are irrigated, and that helps the fruit grow," says Daniel Ibarra.
"We have about 8,000 hectares planted and approximately 5,000 hectares in production. In fact, we have been growing a lot. In the last six years, we have been expanding at a great pace, going from 4,000 hectares to the current 8,000 hectares."
He also says that "in our area, there are no fruit processors, unlike in other producing areas. Other niches of opportunity will arise as the market matures. In my opinion, based on my knowledge and what we've seen in other areas, there will come a time when the fruit will have the right economic value to be used as raw material by processors, and in this way, other kinds of business will arise in this area."
Marketing
Regarding the marketing, the expert points out that "most of our production is intended for the U.S. market, as well as Canada. There are shipments going to Europe and Asia, but not a lot, as we deal with limitations when shipping by sea. Almost all shipments are carried out by air, and those volumes are small. Maritime shipments in this area take a long time to reach their destination, because we are very far north of the country. It takes a long time to reach the ports that achieve greater efficiency and shorter transit times, and this means it takes about twenty-five days to reach Europe by sea."
"For the last four or five years, air shipping has been growing as another option. In fact we are very close to the port of Topolobampo, which has not been used to its full advantage. However, to ship to Japan we use Long Beach; that is to say, by land from our area to California, and from there by sea. The logistical challenge makes it hard for us to find new markets in both Europe and Asia," says Daniel Ibarra.