Ecuador’s mango export crop is expected to weigh in at 12.5m (kg) cartons in 2020/21, slightly below last season’s 13m-carton total.
Bernardo Malo, president of Fundación Mango, said the drop is due to slighter cooler temperatures during the growing season.
Harvesting of yellow varieties got underway in the third week of September, with the first shipments of Tommy Atkins starting in October. Around 80 per cent of this variety will be destined for the US market.
Marketers expect to see an increase in retail sales this year as shoppers shun traditional markets due to Covid-19 fears.
“At the moment the transition between Brazil, which is the country that precedes us in production, is progressing quite smoothly and we expect prices to remain at good levels,” Malo said.
Ecuador exports around 50,000 tonnes of mangoes a year, grown on an area 5,500ha, most of which is found in the province of Guayas. Around 85 per cent of this is GlobalGAP certified and according to Malo, the take up of other accreditations such as Rainforest Alliance is also increasing.
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