Temperatures on the northern coast of Peru can play a very important role in this mango campaign. The low temperatures recorded (especially in the pura) led to a great flowering of trees; However, if the weather continues like this, it could be harmful to the fruit, stated Cesar Morucho, president of the Peruvian Mango Exporters Association (APEM). “Mango trees require temperatures of less than 16 degrees Celsius to thrive and minimum temperatures of over 22 degrees Celsius for the fruits to set. Unfortunately, temperatures are currently lower than that,” he said.
Despite this, Morocho expects this season’s volume to be similar to last year’s when 241,000 tons of fresh mangoes were shipped. “What will happen in the coming days will be of great importance to the campaign. I think that if a lot of fruit does not fall, because they will compete with each other, the producers will get small-caliber fruits. In addition, the season can start two weeks earlier than usual; which is What really happened in Mexico, Brazil and Ecuador.”
Mango markets in Peru
The United States typically concentrates 30% to 35% of Peruvian mango exports, and Europe 60% to 65%. He added that in this campaign, producers should take into account the uncertainty there due to availability of shipping lines, availability of containers and freight rates.
The United States and Europe absorb practically all the fruit that Peru exports. “There will likely be a time when we saturate both markets, so we should aim for other destinations like Asia, which is a great market where our fruits are very good. However, we have to solve the logistical issues because the mangoes have a short shelf life, and ship the product to Hong Kong or Shanghai by sea takes 36-40 days – not including the days the product remains in the port of destination before unloading -.Currently, enormous effort is made to transport the fruit to this destination is useless when it deteriorates very quickly due to transit times “.
“We must find new markets for the destination, but – at the same time – we need to discover or explore new mechanisms to protect the fruit, such as controlled or modified atmosphere, ozone, or any other method that allows to extend its life.”
Source: agraria.pe