The UK will see first arrivals of Puerto Rican mangoes in February, one month ahead of schedule.

Leading mango distributors Minor Weir & Willis and Wealmoor Ltd announced they had already received initial mango consignments of the season.

Thanks to their suppliers' careful management of the crop, the companies have received fruit four weeks earlier than in 2001.

Minor Weir & Willis said its supplier Martex Farm expects to yield two million cartons of fruit for export this year, maintaining a presence on the European market from February to October.

Meanwhile, Wealmoor is pleased with the product that has arrived from its Puerto Rican growers TropicAL.

Wealmoor commercial manager Avnish Malde said: 'We have worked on developing our offer to ensure we have continuous supplies of fruit with superb internal condition and eating quality to complement our offer from Peru.

'Problems in previous years on the South African crop have led us to develop the Puerto Rican situation. The results so far have been very pleasing.' Minor Weir & Willis suppliers Martex Farms recently became the first mango producer from Puerto Rico to attain Eurep Gap certification for its operations.

Sudhir Mehta, Minor Weir & Willis commercial director, said: 'As Martex Farms UK partner for the last nine years, we view these developments with great excitement and feel it will assist us and our customers in growing mango consumption in the UK.' Market penetration for mangoes in the UK now runs at around 15.5 per cent of consumers, comparing favourably with 13.5 per cent last year.

Mehta believes the figures are a just reward for all parties involved in the awareness initiatives launched by Minor Weir & Willis and its partners, which resulted in the launch of Mango Week last year and the formation of a Mango Association. See page six for more.